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1 

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3 

1 

2 

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5 

6 

u 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH 


Aw 


III 


'•i''','-.l 


OF  THE 


SECOND    WAli 


BETWEEV  THE 


UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 


AND 


GREAT   BRITAIN, 


DECLARED  BY 


ACT  OF  CONGRESS,  THE  18th  OF  JUNE,  1812, 
AND  CONCLUDED  BY  PEACE,  THE  15th  OF  FEBRUARY,  1815. 


BY 


CHARLES    J.    INGERSOLL 


IN    THREE    VOLUMES. 
VOL.  I. 

EMBRACING  THE  EVENTS  OF  1812-13, 


■'e'" 


PHILADELPHIA: 

LEA    AND    BLANCHARD. 

1845. 


Mm 


T^7 


76748 


iiiir,.vDr.i.rniA: 

T.  K    &  r    G.  roi.MNS, 


nUNTERS. 


Entered  according  to  tlic  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  ISIJ,  by 

LEA    AND    BLANC  MAUI), 

in  the  Clerk's  Omec  of  the  District  Cour*  for  the  Kastcrn  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


is. 


•"Sl 


■l 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTKR  I. 

Dnclaration  of  War. — EfTocts. — Causes  and  Character  by  Dallas.— John  Adams. — 
Eastern  Clergy. — American  Church. — Debt. — Wm.  Lowndes. — Massachusetts. 
Timothy  Pickcrinp. — War  Loans. — Daniel  Webstcr.^Rufus  King. — Jeremiah 
Mason. — Executive  Administration. — Foreign  Kelatioiis  -  -  -       13 


CHAPTER  II. 

Invasion  ofCanada. — Halifiix  Campaign. — Hull's  Expedition. — Capture  ofMichi- 
liniacinack. — Hull's  Surrender. —  Loss  of  Michigan. — General  Craig. — Capture 
of  the  frigate  (iucrriere. — Captain  Hull. — Cient^ral  Van  Rensselaer. — Hattle  of 
Queenstown. — Ociieral  Suiytiio. — (Jeneral  Scott. — Militia. — Sniythe's  Faili  re. 
— Northern  Army.^'ieiieral  Dearborn. — Colonel  Duane. — End  of  Campaign 
of  ISli  .  -  -  ...... 


74 


CHAPTER  III. 

Congress. — Special  Session  of  1S13. — Tax  Hills. — John  W.  Eppos.  James  Plea- 
sants.— .lonathan  Roberts. — Timothy  Pitkin. — William  W.  Bibb. — Hugh  Nel- 
son.— Pr(^paration  for  War. — Pensions. — Privateers. — Secret  Session.— Mr. 
(lallatiu'a  Nomination     -.--..--     105 


CHAPTEJl  IV. 

Military  Operations  of  IS13. — North-Western  Army. — Kentucky  Volunteers. — 
(lencial  Harrison. — Winchester. — Massa:;rc  at  River  Raisin. — Sieges  at  Tort 
Meigs. — Repulse  at  Sandusky. — Croghan. — Naval  Battle  on  Lake  Erie. — Perry. 
— Elliott. — Barclay.         ........ 


130 


CHAPTER  V. 

Walk-in-the-Water's  Tradition  of  the  Indian  Naval  Engagement  on  Lake  Erie       liJS 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Harrison's  Invasion  ofCanada. — Proctor  destroys  Maiden  and  retreats. — Tociini- 
sch's  Remonstrance. — Pursuit  of  Proctor. — Johnson's  Mounte<l  Regiment. — 
Battle  of  the  Thames. — Surrender  of  English. — Proctor's  Flight.— Death  of 
Tncumseh. — Indian  Subordination  by  English. — Enormity  of  that  Alliance.— 
Its  Demoralizing  Elfects. — Law  of  Nations  thereupon. — Harrison  goes  to  Buf- 
falo— Thence  to  Washington — And  Ohio. — His  Resignation. — Illumination  for 
his  and  Perry's  Victories. — Joseph  Hopkinson  ....     174 


I'^A 


m 

-At'- 


IV 


CfiNTENTS, 


}/P 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Coast  Warfare. — Arrival  of  Admirnl  Warren  with  British  Klcetg. — Blockade*  of 
the  United  States  except  New  P^nghiiid.  Marauding  E.xpcditionB  of  Admiral 
Cockburn. — Burning  Havre  de  (iracc,  Frcnchtown,  Frcdericktown,  George- 
town.— Enemy  repulsed  at  Lowistown, — Defeated  at  Crancy  Island. — Feeble- 
ness of  Naval  Power  in  Land  Warfare. — Its  Illegalities. — Attempt  to  burn  the 
Frigate  Constellation. — Capture  of  Hampton  by  British  Land  and  Naval  Forces. 
—Barbarities  there. — Mr.  Clay's  Motion  in  Congress  for  a  Committee  to  Report 
on  the  Subject. — Committee  Appointed,  Nathaniel  Macon,  Chairman. — His 
Political  Portrait  ........ 


193 


CHVPTER  VIII. 

Taxes. — Direct  Tax. — Tax  on  refined  Sugar. — Sales  at  Auction. — Retailers'  Li- 
censes.— Stamps. — Carriages. — Stills. — Produce  of  Taxes  under  Washington's, 
Adams',  and  Madison's  Administration. — Selection  of  Collectors. — Cost  of  Col- 
lection.— Reduction  of  Taxes  after  War. — Dallas's  System. — Monroe's  Admin- 
istration.— Taxes  Repealed.  —  •'^rawford.  Secretary  of  Treasury.  —  Tabular 
Statements  of  Taxation. — Dob;ite  and  Votes  on  Repeal  of  System  of  Internal 
Revenue. — EfTcct  on  Impost. — Tarill'of  Duties. — War  Loans. — Paper  Money. 
—American  and  English  Notional  Debt  and  Credit. — Suspension  of  Specie 
Payments  by  Banks. — Evils  of  Irresponsible  Banking. — Effects  of  War  on  Re- 
sources of  United  States, — Commissioner  of  Revenue. — Samuel  Harrison 
Smith. — President  Madison  ....... 


218 


\ 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Northern  Campaign.— -Eustis  resigns  tlio  War  Department.  —  Armstrong  ap- 
pointed Secretary  of  W:ir. — Plan  of  Ciunpaign  to  attack  Kinj,'ston. — (icnoral 
Pike. — Town  INIccting  at  Philadelphia. — (lenrrals  Dearborn  and  Pike  capture 
York. — Pike's  Death. — Indian  Scalp  in  Canadian  Parliament  House. — Revolu- 
tionary Indian  Barbarities. — Capture  of  Fort  Ciiorgc  by  the  Americans. — Re- 
pulse of  the  English  by  (ioneral  Brown  at  Sackctt's  Harbour. — Enormous  Ex- 
penses of  Border  and  Lake  War. — (icticrals  Chandler  and  Winder  surprised 
and  captured  by  General  Vincent  at  Forty  Mile  Creek. — Colonel  Burn  retreats. 
— General  Lewis  ordered  to  reinforce  liiii. — Recalled  by  General  Dearborn. — 
Colonel  Boerstler's  Surrender  at  the  Beaver  Dams. — General  Dearborn  re- 
moved from  command  of  the  Northern  Army. — Succeeded  ad  interim  by  Ge- 
neral Boyd. — Ordered  not  to  act  offensively. — Cooped  uj)  in  Fort  fleorge  all 
Summer. — General  Wilkinson  takes  command  there  in  September. — State  and 
Number  of  the  Forces  at  Sackett's  Harbour,  Fort  George  and  Champlain.^ 
Expedition  against  Montreal. — (ienerals  Armstrong,  Wilkinson  and  Hampton. 
— Their  Plans  and  Feuds. — Hampton  invades  Canada — Is  repulsed  in  Septem- 
ber, and  again  in  October. — C'hauncey  gets  command  of  Lake  Ontario. — Wil- 
kinson's Descent  of  the  St.  Lawrence  to  attack  Montreal. — Description  and 
Disasters  of  that  Voyage. — Brave  and  successful  Resistance  of  the  English. — 
Battle  of  Williamsburg. — Correspondence  between  Hampton  and  Wilkinson. — 
Hampton  refuses  to  join  Wilkinson,  who  abandons  the  Expedition. — Public 
Opinion  respecting  it. — Newspaper  Accounts. — General  M'Clure  destroys  Fort 
George,  and  retreats  to  Fort  Niagara. — Burns  Qucenstown. — British  retaliate. — 
Surprise  Fort  Niagara,  and  lay  waste  Western  New  York. — Impressions  at 
Washington. — Blue-lights  reported  by  Decatur,  as  seen  to  give  notice  of  his 
movements. — English  triumphs  in  Europe,  and  America  embolden  their  War- 
fare.— Disastrous  close  of  Northern  Campaign  in  1813  ... 


266 


:n 


1 


'«-*i 


CONTENTS. 


193 


CHAPTER  X. 

Southern  Cnmpaign  against  the  Creek  Inilinns. — Act  of  Congress  for  taking  pos- 
session of  that  part  of  Louisiana  which  Sjiain  withheld  as  part  of  Florida.— 
Mobile  seized  by  General  Wilkinson. — Tecumseh  and  his  brother,  the  Pro- 
phet, visit  the  Creeks  to  rouse  them  to  War. — Spanish  connivance  with  Eng- 
land for  this  purpose. — Creek  Revolt  and  Civil  War. — Fort  Mitchell. — Indian 
Patriot  and  Peace  Party,  the  young  for  war,  the  old  oppose  it. — Outbreak. — 
Desultory  murders. — Massacre  at  Fort  Minims. — Georgia  and  Tennessee  under* 
take  their  own  defence. — Georgia  Militia. — Generals  Floyd  and  Flournoy.— 
Tennessee  Militia.— Generals  White,  Claiborne,  Coffee,  Carroll,  Jackson.— 
Battles  of  Tallushatchce,  Talltdoga,  Eccouochacca,  and  Hillabee. — Militia 
and  Volunteers  of  Tennessee  and  Georgia  insubordinate. — Many  of  them  go 
home. — Campaign  suspended  for  want  of  troops. — Character  of  sudden  levies 
for  short  service. — Reinforcements. — Andrew  Jackson. — IJattle  of  Emuchfuu 
or  the  Horse-Shoe. — Indians  subdued — Dispersed — Sue  for  Peace. — Weather- 
ford  surrenders  himself  to  Jackson. — Meeting  of  (Jenerals  Pinckney  and  Jack- 
son at  Toulouse. — Spanish  Treaty  of  179.5. — Negotiated  by  Pinckney,  enforced 
by  Jackson. — Reflections  on  the  past  and  future  actions  of  those  two  generals 
— As  to  the  ell'ects  of  the  Creek  campaign.— President's  Message  to  Congress 
on  the  subject  ........ 


316 


218 


266 


CHAPTER   XI. 

NAVAI.    WARKAHE. 

Commercial  and  Helligcrcnt  Foundations  of  American  Navy. — Nelson's  view  of  it. 
— Seizure  of  Frigate  Chesapeake. — Impressment  and  commercial  wrong.-— Dis- 
cipline and  confidence  of  the  American  Navy. — Want  of  discipline  and  ovcr- 
confulence  of  British. — American  superiority. — English  Navy  unequal  in  force 
to  American,  in  America  in  1S12. — English  Ships  enumerated — And  American. 
— Culpable  negligouct?  and  timidity  of  American  Government. — Determined  to 
lay  up  Navy  as  port  defences  when  it  might  have  subdued  that  of  England. — 
English  views  of  that  subject. — Mr.  (iailatin's  Scheme. — Visit  of  Captains 
Bainbridge  and  Stewart  to  Washington. — Their  renionstrance  against  disman- 
tling die  Navy. — Madison  yields  to  it. — Frigate  (.'T-ititution's  first  Cruize  and 
capture  of  the  GiK'rriere  contrary  to  orders. —  ■.  ••  of  the  Constitution  by 
English  Siiiiadroii. — CImso  of  tin;  Hciviilera  by  AinerK  u  Scpiadroii. — Seaboard 
sentiment  concoriiiiig  Navy. — Dread  of  Eiighiiiil. — Capture  of  the  Guerriere. 
— English  views  of  it. — Capture  of  the  Queen  Ciiarlottc  and  Detroit  on  Lake 
Eric. — Frolic  by  Wasp. — Maredonian  by  United  States. — Java  by  Constitu- 
tion.— Peacock  by  Hornet. — Bainbridge. — Decatur. — Hull. — Capture  of  Chesa- 
peake by  Shannon. — Lawrence. — His  Cliallciige  ofLa  Bonne  Citoyenne.— Lieu- 
tenant Cox. — His  Court  Martial. — Salutary  National  Ell'ects  of  the  loss  of  the 
Chesapeake  by  counteraction  of  Eastern  disaffection. — Salutary  Naval  Effects 
of  Lawrence's  indiscretion. — Mr.  Qiiiucy's  Resolutions  in  the  Senate  of  Massa- 
chusetts.— Navy  adopted  by  the  Nation. — Cruises  of  the  Frigates  President, 
Congress,  and  P^ssex. — Naval  American  Capacity. — Inefficiency  of  English  Ma- 
rine.— Comparative  cost  of  war  and  peace  by  sea. — Lake  Warfare.— On  Cham- 
plain — On  Ontario. — Chauncey's  pursuit  of  Yeo. — Running  tight. — Yco's  Es- 
cape and  Chauncey's  omission  to  destroy  the  English  Fleet. — Contest  of  Ship, 
building. — Enormous  expense  of  lake  conflicts  by  land  and  water. — Lord 
Cochraiic's  Resolutions  in  the  House  of  Commons. — Comparison  of  American 
and  English  Marine. — Captures  of  the  two  from  each  other  in  1812  and  1813. 
— Superiority  of  the  American. — Causes  of  it. — War  of  1812  made  American 
Navy  from  long-prepared  materials. — Its  character — And  rewards 


361 


m 


VI 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTKR  XII. 

Provisional  Armintice,  July,  1S12,  hftwopii  lliiyiipx  niul  Donrborn. — Rrjpctcd  by 
Mnilison— who  insists  on  aliiiiulorinidit  of  Iin|ircssiTi<Mit.— Americiiii  tcriiis  of 
Pttcificiition  rrjnctrd  by  Knjflmul. — KiiuHnIi  trriiis  rol'iisrcl  by  Aincricn. — Corro- 
gpondnnco,  0('tol)cr  mid  Novpinbcr,  1H13,  bctwupii  Warren  nnd  Moiiron,— 
Wiir  inevitdblp,— Aniprican  soidiprs  soizpd  an  Hritisli  subjpcts  to  bo  pxpciitod 
ns  traitors. — Anipriiian  rptiiiiatioii. — Corrpspondonro  on  tbn  sidijpct  lictwcen 
Dparborn,  Prpvost,  and  Williinsori. — (Ipuoral  cxcitpnipiit. — h'iKiriiiity  of  tbn 
Knglisb  attPinpt — Finally  abaiidonpii. — Russian  Mrdiation. — (iallatin,  Adams, 
and  Hayard  appointed  Kiivoys  inulrr  it. — Morpaii.— Knvoyspnil)ark  for  St.  Pp- 
tcrsbnrgh. — (iallatin  writes  to  llariiij,'. — Hritisli  Ministry. — CastlprpaRli.— Hrit- 
isli dpsiRns. — Spurn  inrdiatioii. — OlFi'r  to  treat  at  l.ciiidiin  or  (iottpnbiirjjli. — 
Festivals  lor  Russian  victorips.— Mr.  Otis's  spppcli  to  Kustapbicvc,  the  Russian 
Consul. — Kpstirals  for  Aincrieaii  Naval  Victories  ojjposed.— Ciovernor  Stniny's 
Message  to  Legislatiire  of  Massachusetts. — Their  Respoiisp. — Proceedings  in 
Parliament.— •Castlproagh's  ISIntion  nnd  Spppcli.— Aip.vaiub'r  Haring. — Foster 
charges  American  governnient  with  l''reiicb  inlluence. —  Hritisli  Indiienec  in 
New  Kngland. — .Mr.  Webster's  Resolutions  in  the  House  of  Representatives.— 
Mr.  Calhoun's  Report  on  tliem. — Mr.  Monroe's  .\nswer  to  them. — 'I'urreau's 
Letter. — Hanson's  Motion. — French  Intervention  in  tli(!  war  considered. — It8 
advantages  prevented  by  Hritisli  Inlluence.— ,Iocl  Harlow's  Negotiations  with 
France — .Merely  coinmcrclal — Forbearing  political  connection. — Harlow  in- 
vited to  Wilna  to  sign  a  treaty — Dies  in  I'oland — Is  succeeded  in  ,Iuly,  ISIH, 
by  Crawford  as  Minister  to  Frauce. — M.  Serurier,  French  Minister  at  Wash- 
ington. —  Kinhargo — Recommended  by  I'residcnt  in  .July,  then  rejected  by  Se- 
nate, enacted  in  December — Incli'ectunl — And  repealed  ... 


•113 


CUAPTKR    I. 


DECLARATION  01'  WAR.  —  KKKKCTS.  — CAUSKS  AND  CHARACTER  BY 
DALLAS.— JOHN  ADAMS.— KASTERN  (.'LKIKiY— AMERICAN  CHURCH.- 
DEin.- WM.  LOWNDES.- .MAS.'<ACHl  SETIS.— TLMOTHY  I'lCKERLNC— 
WAR  LOANS.— DANIEL  WEBSTER— Ums  KINC— .lEREMIAH  MASON. 
— EXECITIVE  AD.MINISTRATION.— FOKEICN  RELATIONS. 


Ivi 


;^I 


■'!•'■>  H 


HISTORICAL  SKETCH. 


..>! 


In  this  historical  sketch  I  shall  endeavour  to  submit  the  truth 
in  an  account  of  the  contest  between  Great  Hritain  and  the 
United  States  of  America,  declared  by  act  of  Congress,  approved 
the  18th  of  June,  1812.  It  enacted  that  war  was  thereby  declared 
to  exist  between  the  United  Kingdoms  of  Great  Hritainand  Ireland 
and  the  Dependencies  thereof,  and  the  United  States  of  America 
and  their  Territories ;  and  that  the  President  of  the  United  States 
was  thereby  authorized  to  use  the  whole  land  and  naval  force 
of  the  United  States  to  carry  the  same  into  effect,  and  to  issue 
to  private  armed  vessels  of  the  United  States  commissions,  or 
letters  of  marque  and  general  reprisal,  in  such  form  as  he  should 
think  proper  and  under  the  seal  of  the  United  States,  against 
the  vessels,  goods,  and  effects  of  the  government  of  the  said 
United  Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland  and  the  subjects 
thereof. 

This  short  act  is  the  first  declaration  of  war  by  law  enacted 
through  all  the  deliberative  forms,  debates  and  sanctions  of  the 
public  proceedings  of  two  distinct  and  independent  houses  of 
national  representatives  in  congress,  assembled  from  the  distant 
regions  of  a  republic  of  confederated  states,  approved  by  an  elec- 
tive chief  magistrate,  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  an  organized 

VOL.  I. — 2 


tel 


14 


IMSTOHICAI,     SUKTCII 


[.MJNK,  \HV2 


wriltni  constitnlimi,  iliat  siidi  conu'rrss  jiloiic  sli  ill  dcclan!  war. 
TIk!  judicial,  an  iiKlfpciKU'iil  (Icpaiiriiciil  of  Anii'iirau  i,'ovi.'rii- 
inoiit,  with  llu!  coiimioii  iiioiu'iicss  to  divorsiij'  of  judi,Mm'nt, 
diHorod  radically  in  o|iiiii()ii  wlirlliiT  legislative  diclaialioa  ol 
war  inij)aiis  to  tin;  cxeciiiivc  anil  mlorcts  on  tliocoinrunnity  tlw 
whole  l)ollii,M'it'nt  power  ulloicilily  execntinLr  it  against  enemies. 
de|)rivini,' tlieni  ollilierty  and  property,  and  Hie  if  need  be,  with- 
out t'lirther  more  speciJic  legislative  enaelnient.  He  that  as  it 
may,  as  will  herealter  be  examined,  ronstilntionul  transfer  of  the 
war-declaring  faculty  from  the  executive!  to  a  IcLiislatnrc!  is  an 
inestimable  pledge  of  peace  and  pn-veiilive  ol"  wanton  war,  fn'sl 
conf(!rred  on  maidviml  by  AmcMican  republican  institutions. 

This  short  and  compn.'lnMisivc  act  was  (hawn  by  William 
Piidiiioy,  then  Attorney-tJeiieral  of  the  rniled  Slates,  in  whicli 
ollice,  not  Ion;,'   before,  he  succeeded  (,'a'sar  AiiL,'Ustus  Rodney. 

The  war  of  the  Kcvolution  began  in  tmnult  and  rebellion,  was 
waged  by  the.  imposition  of  martial  law  for  regular  authority; 
und  closed  by  an  act  of  national  bankruptcy,  leaving  an  imper- 
fect union  of  barely  confederated  States,  discontented  and  exani- 
mate, poor  and  intractable.  During  the  Ktvolution  (he  country 
was  rent  by  civil  discord:  the  torics  (•ould,  with  some  reason, 
j)lead  the  merits  of  loyally.  The  war  of  JSl2,solenmly  declared 
in  constitutional  method,  was  waged  in  due  subordination  to  law, 
opposed  on  less  Jusliliablc  grounds, and  terminated  with  manifold 
meliorations,  ^inco  as  generally  acknowledged  as  those  of  thy 
peac(!  of  independ(  lice.  Commerce,  manufactures,  navigation, 
agriculture,  national  character,  the  respect  of  other  nations,  (Ireul 
Ikilain  especially,  and  coniidencc  in  republican  institutions,  till 
then  by  no  means  great,  even  among  Americans  themselves; 
derived  (rom  less  tlian  three  years  of  excitement  by  war,  advan- 
tages which  peace  could  not  have  conferred.  The  war  of  the 
Revolution  left  unpaid  a  national  debt  of  near  'MO  millions  of 
dollars;  whereas,  not  long  aftor  the  war  of  181:;^,  a  debt  of  12.'} 
millions  was  paid.  An  .American  historian, Ramsey, considers  that 
the  talents  of  the  i)oo])le  of  the  United  States  were  improved  by 
the  war  of  the  Revolution,  but  that  their  morals  were  deteriorated. 
The  physicid  and  meijtal  capacities  of  the  country  were  all  ad- 
vanced by  the  war  of  1812,  without  moral  or  political  detriment. 
Tlie  government  since  has  been  as  republican  as  before ;  while  the 
tone  of  public  and  private  morality  has  been  much  more  impaired 


ni 

e 


VI 

1)4 


ni 
irr 
ai 


41 


CHAP.  I.l 


OF    TIIK    WAR    OF     If!  1 2. 


}6 


by  long  pcacn  sinco,  than  it  was  by  that  war.  LiUn  ihc  Rovolii- 
lion,  Iho  war  of  18lii  was  iiiovitabk;  ami  dodiiisivo  ;  ptit  oil  iori^cr 
before  e.\torl(!(l  from  iiiioli'rable  wroii2[s;  iiii(U'ilakcii  for  vindica- 
tion, not  agqiandizutnonl,  ulllioiigli  Canadian  cotKiiicst  was  to 
be  one  of  its  nu;ans.  The  cause  was  as  jnst;  the  prcitiiraliori 
greater;  also  the  forbi;arance;  and  the  conseiiuences  as  beneficial. 
Moral,  physical,  and  mental  independence  were  achievements  of 
thcconllictof  isiij  as  ninch  as  political  (Mnancipation  that  of  nT/). 
Tiie  common,  ])erhaps  salutary  impression,  that  the  Revolution 
was  more  nnanimonsly  supported,  is  a  mistake.  The  majorities 
in  ('ongress  on  all  tlu^  essential  principles  in  177  I  were  i.'XiretiK^ly 
small.  The  Declaration  of  Independence  was  earriiuj  with  dilli- 
ciilty,ifnot  by  accident.  Most  of  the  irreat  ipiestions  of  nicasnn.s 
and  men  from  1771  to  I77>s,  were  decided  in  Congress  by  (he 
vote  of  a  single  staltt,  and  that  often  by  the  vole;  of  un(;  man. 
The  nation  was  more  divided  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution  than 
ill  that  of  ISl','.     There  was  no  overt  treason  in  the  hitter. 

J)estiny  seems  todcliirht  to  bring  about  great  results  from  insig- 
nificant and  doubtful  beginnings,  inexplicable  coimuotions,  like 
vast  coiillagrations  from  mere  sparks.  It  may  be  (piestioned 
whethiM'  any  great  revolution  originated  with  the  will  of  a  majo- 
rity. Where  freedom  prevails,  submission  of  minorities  to  osten- 
sible majorities  becomes  a  fmidamental  doctrine.  However  small 
the  majority,  it  means  all  the  nation.  In  monarchi(>s,  the  monarch 
or  his  minister  rides  instead  of  the  majority.  In  republics,  that 
mysterious  and  overruling  power,  the  sovereignty  of  the  peo- 
ple, seen  nowhere,  fell  everywhere,  resides  in  a  mere  majority; 
and  in  war,  as  was  the  case  in  that  of  181;*,  large,  acrimonious 
minorities,  which  I'xasperati;,  may  corroborate  the  majority,  and 
elicit  great  national  exploits.  Republicans  deride  the  dogma  of 
kings' divine  right:  Americans  can  hardly  comprehend  it.  Their 
government  rests  on  an  antagonist  i»rineiple.  Vet  |)hilosopliically 
analyzed,  is  the  sovereignty  of  tlie  people  perfectly  obvious?  In- 
visible and  intangible  reality  governing  all,  where  is  it  palpable? 
Directly  it  makes  none  of  the  laws  of  which  it  is  indirectly  the 
sole  author.  It  isdiliused  throughout  the  mass  wliose  will  begets 
and  controls  public  opinion  by  individual  agency,  and  its  voice 
may  be  com|)ared  to  that  of  the  Diity  in  power,  inscrutable  and 
irresponsible.  War  between  the  |)rinciples  of  popular  sovereignty 
and  the  divine  right  of  kings,  begun  by  the  American  Dcclara- 


•  /I 

''.  v'r 


i'   C 


mm 

■»■'".' 


I  *,'UlJ 


16 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


[JUNE,  1812. 


tion  of  Independence,  has  spread  over  nearly  all  the  new  and 
much  of  the  old  world.  Whatever  be  the  fact,  majorities  are  at 
least  supposed  to  govern,  and  minorities  to  submit.  The  wars  of 
1775  and  1812  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  of 
America,  were  waged  by  nations  both  acknowledging  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  people.  Probably,  the  English  and  American 
commonwealths,  in  rebellions  against  established  governments, 
united  the  most  ])erfect  examples  of  individual  subordination 
with  national  liberty. 

My  sketch  of  the  war  of  1812  will  present  only  what  I  had 
good  opportunity  to  know  by  actual  instrnmeiitality  in  the  gov- 
(U'ument  of  the  United  States  from  the  ineotiiig  of  the  special 
session  of  Congress,  21th  of  May,  ISl.'J,  till  the  peace  announced 
at  Washington,  the  1.5lh  of  February,  1815.  During  the  three 
war  sessions  of  Congress  in  that  period,  1  was  there  on  intimate 
and  confidential  terms  with  most  of  those  who  governed.  With 
natural  preferences,  party  and  personal  prejudices,  niy  narrative 
shall,  nevertheless,  be  authentic  and  candid  according  to  my  own 
impressions:  long  meditated,  yet  not  composed  till  interval  enough 
for  experience  by  results  and  calm  consideration,  now  published 
for  the  good,  and  dedicated  to  the  honour  of  my  country. 

The  method  is  free,  familiar,  desultory,  without  pretension  to 
historical  dignity.  Errors  there  must  be,  but  no  misrepreseiUa- 
tion ;  as  near  the  truth  as  cotemporary  statement  may  rorne ; 
truer  than  the  fictions  of  posterior  history.  Without  regal  or 
revolutionary  annals,  European  magnitude  of  events  and  charac- 
ters to  describe,  but  the  plain,  comparatively  small,  often  dull 
transactions  of  a  new  and  peculiar  nation,  the  embellishments 
and  attractions  of  most  history  are  not  to  be  expected.  To  exhi- 
bit plainly  the  causes  and  course  ol  the  war,  its  legislative,  econo- 
mical, jurisprudential  and  belligerent  operations,  is  my  attempt ; 
submitted  to  the  indulgent  judgment  of  my  countrymen,  without 
acrimonious  condemnation  of  the  great  people  the  war  was  waged 
against,  whose  wrongs  and  miscotiduct,  however,  being  the  bur- 
then of  the  slory,  nuist  be  told  as  they  meiit,  without  extenuation 
or  suppression,  or  the  truth  will  not  lie  told  at  all. 

The  first  war  between  the  United  States  and  (iroat  liritain  was 
a  contest  for  political  independence,  accomplished.  The  second 
Avar  between  them  was  for  maritime  and  personal  independence, 
also  mainly  effected. 


t( 
o 


I 


■I 


1 


f 


CHAP.  I.] 


OF    THE    WAR     OK     1812. 


17 


^l\\\,  lio\vcvcr,a  contest  for  commerce,  mannfacturcs,  and  terri- 
tories continues,  national  rivalry  and  antagonism,  fomented  by  the 
pres..,  inseparable  from  the  intimacy  of  national  nilations,  wliich 
may  i)roduce  another  war. 

Should  it  be  so,  the  United  States  will  never  be  the  aggressor. 
Iniunncrable  sympathies  bind  us  to  (ireat  IJritain  with  reveren- 
tial attachments,  lie  must  be  unnatural,  who,  with  nothing  but 
English  blood  in  his  voins,  reviles  Great  Britain.  But  the  greatest 
of  American  regenerations  is  to  become  perfectly  independent  of 
the  vast  innuenc(;s  of  that  mighty  nation  among  her  former  colo- 
nies. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  aJmire  her  grandeur,  at  least  to  respect 
her  power,  and  grateful  to  an  American  to  do  justice  to  her 
glory. 

Yet,  ho  would  be  an  unfaithful  annalist  and  an  unworthy 
American,  who,  in  an  account  of  the  vengeance  which  his  coun- 
try was  constrained  to  take  for  the  wrongs  England  inflicted, 
hesitates  to  describe  the  misdeeds  lier  public  agents  were  guilty 
of  in  endeavours  to  maintain  those  wrongs.  To  preserve  peace 
hereafter,  a  full  exposure  of  them  is  not  only  truer  but  wiser 
than  suppression  or  extenuation.  Malicious  or  ungenerous 
recollections  of  war  are  unmanly  and  impolitic.  IJut  amnes'v  is 
not  oblivion. 

The  duly  of  history  to  our  own  country,  moreover,  requires 
its  vindication,  if  consistent  with  truth.  The  first  war  between 
the  United  Stales  ;uid  flreat  Hrilain  proved  tliat  the  American 
nation  is  capable  of  self-defence.  'I'he  second  war  demonstrated, 
as  events  show,  the  strength  of  republican  and  confederatcnl  na- 
tionality. We  were  right, and  triumphed  in  the  second  as  in  the 
first.  Nothing  can  so  ellbctually  prevent  a  third,  as  convincing 
both  nations,  by  recurrence  to  the  farmer,  what  may  be  expected 
of  another  contest  in  arms. 

'I'he  charactiM-  of  the  war  is  wc^ll  expressed  in  the  last  sentence 
of  the  President's  Message  to  Congress,  convened  by  him  in 
special  s(!Ssion  to  vole  the  means  of  waging  it.  "The  contest  in 
which  the  U.  States  engagetl  appealed  for  its  support,  to  every 
motive  that  can  animate  an  uncorriipted  and  enlightened  people  ; 
to  the  love  of  country;  to  the  pride;  of  hberty;  to  an  emulation 
of  the  glorious  founders  of  their  indopendetice,  by  a  successful 
vindication  of  its  violated  attributes  ;  to  the  gratitude  and  .sym- 


J-' 

■,4 

■H, 

■' 

., 

■^): 

It 

'•i 

y^' 


•'r  x.\ 


O* 


■■'■  ■  r.' 


18 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


[JUNK,  1812. 


pathy  which  demand  security  from  the  most  degrading  wrongs, 
of  a  class  of  citizens  who  have  proved  themselves  so  worlliy  the 
protection  of  their  country  by  their  heroic  zeal  in  its  defence ; 
and  finally,  to  the  sacred  obligation  of  transmitting  (Mitire,  to 
future  generations,  that  precious  patrimony  of  national  rights 
and  Independence  held  in  trust  by  the  present,  from  the  goodness 
of  divine  providence." 

These  animating  sentiments  are  now  cherished  by  most  Ameri- 
cans in  grateful  acknowledgment  of  the  national  benelits  of  that 
war,  including  its  opponents  generally  in  the  United  States,  and 
even  many  of  its  foreign  enemies.  A  large,  intelligent,  united, 
and  imposing  portion  of  the  people,  nevertheless,  disputed  and 
condemned  the  measures,  and  denied  the  justice  of  the  war,  and 
thwarted  its  progress.  Without  malicious  exposure  of  their 
errors,  refutation  of  them  is  much  of  the  lesson  history  is  to 
teach;  especially  as  our  former  English  enemies, notwithstanding 
continued  abuse  of  this  country,  seldom  deny  the  merits  of  the 
war  of  1812. 

My  narrative  is  therefore  premised  by  a  vindication  of  the  war 
extracted  from  Mr,  Dallas's  admirable  exposition  of  its  causes  and 
character,  prepared  towards  the  close  of  it,  in  the  midst  of  liis  la- 
bours as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  and  intended  as  an  ollicial 
manifesto ;  but  peace  coming  before  it  was  published,  this  masterly 
defence  did  not  appear  till  success  rendered  its  publication  less 
important.     Mr.  Dallas  says, 

"  And  if,  in  iine,  the  assertion,  that  it  has  been  a  policy,  by  all 
honourable  means,  to  cultivate  with  (Ireat  Hritain,  those  senti- 
ments of  mutual  good  will,  which  naturally  belong  to  nalions 
connected  by  the  ties  of  a  common  ancestry,  an  identily  of  lan- 
guage, and  a  similarity  of  manners,  bo  doubted,  the  prools  will 
be  found  in  that  patient  Ibrbearance,  under  the  pres>^ure  of  accu- 
mulating wrongs,  which  marks  tli(!  jx-riod  of  almost  ihirly  years, 
that  elapsed  between  the  peace  of  17>s.]  and  the  rupture  of  1SIL». 

"The  United  States  had  just  ivcoverod,  under  the  auspices  of 
their  present  constitution,  from  the  debility  which  their  revolu- 
tionary struggle  had  produced,  when  the  convulsive  moveinenis 
of  France  excited  throughout  the  civilized  world,  the  mingled 
sensations  of  hope  and  fear— of  admiration  and  alarm.  The 
interest  which  those  movements  would,  in  themselves,  have 
excited,  was  incalculably  increased,  however,  as  soon  as  Great 


■  .'.'XI 


I-] 


OF    THE    WAR    OF     1812. 


19 


less 


Britain  became  a  party  to  the  first  memorable  coalition  against 
France,  and  assumed  the  character  of  a  belligerent  power;  for, 
it  was  obvions,  that  the  distance  of  the  scene  would  no  longer 
exempt  the  United  States  from  the  influence,  and  the  evils,  of 
the  European  conflict.  On  the  one  liand,  their  government  was 
connected  with  France,  by  treaties  of  alliance  and  commerce: 
and  the  services  wliich  that  nation  liad  rendered  to  the  cause  of 
American  independence,  had  made  such  impressions  upon  the 
public  mind,  as  no  virtuous  statesman  could  rigidly  condemn, 
and  the  most  rigorous  statesman  would  have  sought  in  vain  to 
elface.  On  the  other  hand.  Great  iiritain,  leaving  the  treaty  of 
1783  unexecuted,  forcibly  retained  the  American  posts  upon  the 
northern  frontier;  and,  slighting  every  overture  to  place  the  di- 
plomatic and  commercial  relations  of  the  two  countries  upon  a 
fair  and  friendly  foundation,'  seemed  to  contemplate  the  success 
of  the  American  revolution,  in  a  spirit  of  unextinguishable  ani- 
mosity. Her  voice  had,  indeed,  been  heard  from  Quebec  and 
Montreal,  instigating  the  savages  to  war.^  Her  invisible  arm 
was  felt,  in  the  defeats  of  General  Harmer,^  and  General  St. 
Clair,''  and  even  the  victory  of  General  Wayne*  was  achieved  in 
the  presence  of  a  fort  which  she  had  erected,  far  within  the  terri- 
torial boundaries  of  the  United  States,  to  stimulate  and  counte- 
nance the  barbarities  of  the  Indian  warrior."  Yet,  the  American 
government,  neither  yielding  to  popular  feeling,  nor  acting  upon 
the  impulse  of  national  resentment,  hastened  to  adopt  the  policy 
of  a  strict  and  steady  neutrality  ;  and  solemnly  announced  that 
policy  to  the  citizens  at  home,  and  to  the  nations  abroad,  by  the 
proclamation  of  the  i2Jd  of  April,  17!).']." 

"Some  relaxation  in  the  rigour,  without  any  alteration  in  the 
principle,  of  the  order  in  council  of  the  (Jih  of  November,  17.*>3, 
was  introduced  by  the  subsequent  orders  of  the  8lh  of  January, 
1794,  and  the  !i5tli  of  .Fanuary,  1798:  but  from  the  ratification 
of  the  treaty  of  1791,  until  the  short  respite  all'orded  by  the  treaty 
of  Amiens,  in  1802,  the  coannerce  of  tlie  United  States  continued 


':.<:'n 


-:X\ 


'•■■  "'',  ;>i 


)•  .■■•■' 


'  Mr.  .\(lains'  CorrcspDinlence. 
2  Speeches  of  Lord  Dorchester.  » 

»  On  the  waters  of  the  Miami  of  ihe  lake,  on  the  21st  of  October,  1790. 
<  At  Fort  Recovery,  on  the  lih  of  November,  1791. 
*  On  the  Miami  of  the  lakes,  in  August,  1794. 

•■  Correspondence  between  Mr.  Randolph,  the  American  Secretary  of  St      ,  and 
Mr.  Hammond,  the  Urilish  plenipotentiary,  dated  May  and  June,  1794. 


20 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


[JUNE,  1812. 


to  be  the  prey  of  British  cruisers  and  privateers,  under  the  adju- 
dicating patronage  of  the  British  tribunals.  Another  grievance, 
however,  assumed  at  this  epoch  a  form  and  magnitude  which 
cast  a  shade  over  the  social  happiness,  as  well  as  the  political 
independence  of  the  nation.  The  merchant  vessels  of  the  United 
States  were  arrested  on  the  high  seas,  while  in  the  prosecution  of 
distant  voyages;  considerable  numbers  of  their  crews  were  im- 
pressed into  the  naval  service  of  Great  lirltain  ;  the  commercial 
adventures  of  the  owners  were  often,  consequently,  defeated; 
and  the  loss  of  property,  the  embarrassments  of  trader  and  navi- 
gation, and  the  scene  of  domestic  affliction,  became  intolerable. 
This  grievance  (which  constitutes  an  important  surviving  cause 
of  the  American  declaration  of  war)  was  early,  and  has  been 
incessantly,  urged  upon  the  attention  of  the  British  goverrmient. 
Even  in  the  year  1792,  they  were  told  of  'the  irritation  that  it 
had  excited;  and  of  the  difficulty  of  avoiding  to  make  innnediate 
reprisals  on  their  seamen  in  the  United  States.''  They  were  told 
*  that  so  many  instances  of  the  kind  had  happened,  that  it  was 
quite  necessary  that  they  should  explain  tliemsolves  on  the  sub- 
ject, and  be  led  to  disavow  and  punish  such  violence,  which  had 
never  been  experienced  from  any  other  nation.'^  And  they  were 
told  'of  the  inconvenience  of  such  conduct,  and  of  the  ini[)os.si- 
bility  of  letting  it  go  on,  so  that  the  British  ministry  should  be 
made  sensible  of  the  necessity  of  punishing  the  past,  and  prevent- 
ing the  future.'^  liut  after  the  treaty  of  amity,  commerce,  and 
navigation,  had  been  ratified,  the  nature  and  the  extent  of  the 
grievance  became  still  more  manifest ;  and  it  was  clearly  and 
firmly  presented  to  the  view  of  the  British  government,  as  lead- 
ing unavoidably  t<i  discord  and  war  between  the  two  nations. 
They  were  told,  'that  miless  they  would  come  to  some  aeeom- 
modation  whirh  miulit  ensure  the  American  st^amen  against  this 
oppression,  nieasun^s  would  lie  taken  to  cause  the  inconvenience 
to  be  equally  fell  on  both  sides."  They  were  told,  'that  the 
impressment  of  Amerieuii  citizens,  to  serve  on  board  of  Briti'^h 
armed  vessels,  was  not  only  an  injury  to  the  unfortunate  indi- 

'  Letter  c)l'Mr.JefIVrsi)ii,Sccrciary  of  State,  to  Mr.  Pinkney,  minister  at  London, 
<lated  itie  lllli  of  June,  l/if'. 

2  Letter  from  the  same  lo  llio  same,  dated  ihe  I'iih  uf  October,  1792. 

*  Letter  from  the  same  to  the  same,  dated  the  6ih  of  November,  I'idi. 

*  Letter  from  Mr.  Pinkney,  minister  at  London,  to  ihe  Secretary  of  State,  dated 
the  13th  of  March,  1793. 


'^1 


CHAP.  I.] 


OF    THE    WAR    OF     1812. 


21 


viduals,  but  it  naturally  excited  certain  emotions  in  the  breasts 
of  the  nation  to  wliom  they  belonged,  and  ol'  the  just  and  humane 
of  every  country ;  and  that  an  expectation  was  indulged  that 
orders  would  be  given,  that  the  Americans  so  circumstanced 
should  bo  immediately  liberated,  and  that  tlie  British  otlicers 
should,  in  future,  abstain  from  similar  violences."  They  were 
told,  <  that  the  subject  was  of  much  greater  importance  than  had 
been  supposed;  and  that,  instead  of  a  few,  and  those  in  many 
instances  equivocal  co.ses,  the  American  minister  at  the  court  of 
London  had,  in  nine  months  (part  of  the  years  1796  and  1797) 
made  applications  for  the  discliarge  of  two  hundred  and  seventy- 
one  seamen,  who  had,  in  most  cases,  exhibited  such  evidence,  as 
to  satisfy  him  that  they  were  real  Americans,  forced  into  the 
British  service,  and  persevering,  generally,  in  refusing  pay  and 
bounty.'^  They  were  told,  'that  if  the  British  government  had 
any  regard  to  the  rights  of  the  United  States,  any  respect  for  the 
nation,  and  placed  any  value  on  their  friendship,  it  would  facili- 
tate the  means  of  relieving  then'  oppressed  citizens.'-'  They  were 
told,  '  that  the  British  naval  ollicers  often  imprti&seu  Swedes, 
Danes,  and  other  foreigners,  from  the  vessels  of  the  United 
States;  that  they  might,  with  as  much  reason,  rob  American 
vessels  of  the  property  or  merchandize  of  Swedes,  Danes,  and 
Portuguese,  as  seize  and  detain  in  their  service,  the  subjects  of 
those  nations  found  on  board  of  American  vessels;  and  that  the 
president  was  extremely  anxious  to  have  this  business  of  im- 
pressing placed  on  a  reasonable  footi'ig.''*  And  they  were  told, 
'  that  the  imiaessment  of  American  scamoii  was  an  injury  of  very 
serious  magnitude,  which  deeply  allceted  the  feelings  and  honour 
of  the  nation;  that  no  right  had  been  asserted  to  impress  the 
natives  of  America;  yet,  that  they  were  impressed;  they  were 
dragged  on  board  British  ships  of  war,  with  the  evidence  of  citi- 
zenship in  their  hands,  and  (breed  by  violence  there  to  serve, 
until  conclusive  testimonials  of  their  birth  could  be  obtained; 
tliat  many  must  perish  unrelieved,  and  all  were  detained  a  con- 

'  Noie  of  Mr.  Jay,  env(iy  extraordinary,  to  Lord  CSrenville,  dated  the  30ih  ot 
July,  1794. 

*  hetler  of  Mr.  King,  minister  at  London,  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  dated  the 
13th  of  April,  1797. 

^  liCttcr  from  Mr.  Pickering;,  Secretary  of  State, to  Alr.King,  minister  at  London, 
dated  the  10th  of  September,  1790. 

*  Letter  from  the  same  to  the  same,  dated  the  2Gih  of  October,  1796. 


■J 


}.  '■5i|  f*,! 


»} 


J*^. 


22 


HISTORICAL    SKKTCII 


[JUNE,  1812. 


siderablc  time,  in  lawless  and  injurious  confinement;  that  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  practice  must  inevitably  produce  discord  between 
two  nations,  which  ought  to  be  the  IVicnds  of  each  other;  and 
that  it  was  more  advisable  to  desist  from,  and  to  take  etroctual 
measures  to  prevent  an  acknowledged  wrong,  than  by  persever- 
ance in  that  wrong,  to  excite  against  themselves  the  well-founded 
resentments  of  America,  and  force  the  government  into  measures 
which  may  very  possibly  terminate  in  an  open  rupture." 

"  Such  were  the  feelings  and  the  sentiments  of  the  American 
government,  under  every  change  of  its  administration,  in  relation 
to  the  British  practice  of  impressment;  and  such  the  remon- 
strances addressed  to  the  justice  of  Great  Uritain.  It  is  obvious, 
therefore,  that  this  cause,  indep(!ndent  of  every  other,  hns  been 
uniformly  deemed  a  just  and  certain  cause  of  war;  yet,  the  cha- 
racteristic policy  of  the  United  States  still  prevailed:  remonstrance 
was  only  succeeded  by  negotiation ;  and  every  assertion  of 
American  rights,  was  accompanied  with  an  overture,  to  secure, 
in  any  practicable  form,  the  rights  of  Great  liritain.^  Time 
seemed,  however,  to  render  it  more  and  more  diihcult  to  asc»;r- 
tain  and  fix  the  standard  of  the  IJritish  rights,  according  to  the 
succession  of  the  IJritish  claims.  The  right  of  entering  and 
searching  an  American  merchant  ship,  for  the  purpose  of  im- 
pressment, was,  for  awhile,  confined  to  the  case  of  IJritish  de- 
serters; and  even  so  late  as  the  month  of  February,  1800,  the 
minister  of  his  IJritaimic  majesty,  then  at  Philadelphia,  urged  the 
American  government  <  to  take  into  consideration,  as  the  only 
means  of  drying  up  every  source  of  complaint  and  irritation, 
upon  that  head,  a  proposal  which  he  had  made  two  years  before, 
in  the  name  of  his  majesty's  government,  for  the  reciprocal  resti- 
tution of  deserters.'^  IJut  this  project  of  a  treaty  was  then 
deemed  inadmissible,  by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  chief  oMicers  of  the  executive  departments  of  the  government, 
whom  he  consulted,  for  the  same  reason,  specifically,  whieli,  at 
a  subsequent  period,  induced  the  President  of  the  United  States 

'  Letter  of  Mr.  .Marshall,  Secretary  of  State,  (now  Chief. fustire  of  the  Uniieil 
States,)  to  Mr.  Kinp,  minister  at  London,  <hxte(l  the  20th  of  September,  ISOO. 

2  See  particularly,  Mr.  Kind's  propositions  to  Lord  (xrenville  and  Lord 
Hawkesbury,  of  the  KJlh  of  April,  1797,  the  Idlh  of  March,  1799,  the  2'';h  of 
February,  1801,  and  in  July,  1803. 

*  Mr.  Liston's  note  to  Mi.  Pickering,  the  Secretary  of  State,  dated  the  4th  of 
February,  1800. 


!?i 


'#1 


CHAP.  I.] 


OP    THE    WAR    OF    1812. 


23 


to  witlihold  liis  approbation  from  the  treaty  negotiated  by  the 
American  ministers  at  London,  in  the  year  1806 ;  namely  :  '  that 
it  did  not  sulFiciently  provide  against  the  impressment  of  Ameri- 
can seamen ;"  and  '  that  it  is  better  to  have  no  article,  and  to 
meet  the  consequences,  tlian  not  to  enumerate  merchant  vessels 
on  the  high  seas,  among  the  things  not  to  be  forcibly  entered  in 
search  of  deserters.'^  But  the  British  claim,  expanding  with 
singular  elasticity,  was  soon  found  to  include  a  right  to  enter 
American  vessels  on  the  high  seas,  in  order  to  search  for  and 
seize  all  British  seamen ;  it  next  embraced  the  case  of  every 
British  subject ;  and,  finally,  in  its  practical  enforcement,  it  has 
been  extended  to  every  mariner,  who  could  not  prove,  upon  the 
spot,  that  he  was  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 

"  While  the  nature  of  the  British  claim  was  thus  ambiguous 
and  fluctuating,  the  principle  to  which  it  was  referred,  for  justifi- 
cation and  support,  appeared  to  be,  at  once,  arbitrary  and  illu- 
sory. It  was  not  recorded  in  any  positive  code  of  the  law  of 
nations;  it  vas  not  displayed  in  the  elementary  works  of  the 
civilian  ;  nor  had  it  ever  been  exemplified  in  the  maritime  usages 
of  any  other  country,  in  any  other  age.  In  truth,  it  was  the 
oflspring  of  the  municipal  law  of  Great  Britain  alone ;  equally 
operative  in  a  time  of  peace,  and  in  a  time  of  war ;  and,  under 
all  circumstances,  inflicting  a  coercive  jurisdiction  upon  the  com- 
merce and  navigation  of  the  world. 

"  For  the  legitimate  rights  of  the  belligerent  powers,  the  United 
States  had  felt  and  evinced  a  sincere  and  open  respect.  Although 
they  had  marked  a  diversify  of  doctrine  among  the  most  cele- 
brated jurists,  upon  many  of  the  litigated  points  of  the  law  of 
war;  although  they  had  formerly  espoused,  with  the  example  of 
the  most  powerful  government  of  Europe,  the  principles  of  the 
armed  neutrality,  which  wei\^  established  in  the  year  1780,  upon 
the  basis  of  the  memorable  declaration  of  the  empress  of  all  the 
Russias;  and  although  the  principles  of  th^t  declaration  have 
been  incorporated  into  all  their  public  treaties,  ^  xcept  in  the 
instance  of  the  treaty  of  IIM  ;  yet,  the  United  States,  still  faith- 

'  Opinion  of  Mr.  Pickering,  Secretary  of  State,  enclosing  the  plan  of  a  treaty, 
(fated  the  3(1  of  May,  ISOO,  and  the  opinion  of  Mr.  Wolcott,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  dated  the  14th  of  April,  1800. 

*  Opinion  of  Mr.  Stoddert,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  dated  the  23d  of  April, 
1800,  and  the  opinions  of  Mr.  Lee,  Attorney-General,  dated  ihe  26th  of  Febru- 
ary, and  ihe  30ih  of  April,  1800. 


?  - 


*  M 


24 


iriSTORICAL     SKKTCII 


[JUNE,  1812. 


i'lil  to  tliP  pacific  and  imprxrtial  policy  wh'ch  they  professed,  did 
not  hesitate,  even  at  the  commencement  of  the  French  revohi- 
tionary  war,  to  accept  and  allow  the  exposition  of  the  law  of 
nations,  as  it  was  thcin  maintained  by  Great  Britain  ;  and,  con- 
sequently, to  admit,  upon  a  much  contested  point,  that  the  pro- 
perty of  her  enemy,  in  their  vessels,  might  be  lawfully  captured 
as  prize  of  war.'  It  was  also  freely  admitted  that  a  belligerent 
power  had  a  right,  with  proper  cautions,  to  enter  and  search 
American  vessels,  for  the  goods  of  an  enemy,  and  for  articles 
contraband  of  war;  that  if,  upon  a  search,  such  goods  or  articles 
were  found,  or  if,  in  the  course  of  the  search,  persons  in  the  mili- 
tary service  of  tiie  enemy  were  discovered,  a  belligerent  had  a 
right  of  transhipment  and  removal ;  that  a  belligerent  had  a  right, 
in  doubtful  cases,  to  carry  American  vessels  to  a  convenient  sta- 
tion for  further  examination;  and  that  a  belligerent  had  a  right 
to  exclude  American  vessels  from  ports  and  places,  under  the 
blockade  of  an  adequate  naval  force.  These  rights  the  law  of 
nations  might,  reasonably,  bo  deemed  to  sanction  ;  nor  has  a  fair 
exercise  of  the  powers  necessary  for  the  enjoyment  of  these 
rights,  been,  at  any  time,  controverted  or  opposed  by  the  Ameri- 
can government. 

«  But  it  must  be  again  remarked,  that  the  claim  of  Great  Britain 
was  not  to  be  satisfied,  by  the  most  ample  and  explicit  recognition 
of  the  law  of  war ;  for,  the  law  of  war  treats  only  of  the  relations 
of  a  belligerent  to  his  enemy  ;  while  the  claim  of  Great  Britain 
embraced, also,  the  relation  between  a  sovereign  and  his  subjects. 
It  was  said,  that  every  British  subject  was  bound  by  a  tie  of 
allegiance  to  his  sovereign,  which  no  lapse  of  time,  no  change  of 
piece,  no  exigency  of  life,  could  possibly  wenken  or  dissolve.  It 
was  said,  that  the  British  sovereign  was  entitled,  at  all  periods, 
and  on  all  occasions,  to  the  services  of  his  subjects.  And  it  was 
said,  that  the  British  vessels  of  war  upon  the  high  seas,  might 
lawfully  and  forcibly  enter  the  merchant  vessels  of  every  other 
nation  (for  the  theory  of  these  pretensions  is  not  limited  to  the 
case  of  the  United  States,  although  that  case  has  been,  almost 

'  Correspondence  of  the  year  1792,  between  Mr.  Jefferson,  Secretary  of  State, 
and  the  ministers  of  Great  Britain  and  France.  Also,  Mr.  Jefferson's  letter  to 
the  American  minister  at  Paris,  of  the  same  year,  requesting  the  recall  of  Mr. 
Genet. 


of  thi 

to  Mr 


CHAP.  1.! 


OK     THK     WAR    UV     \S\i. 


25 


exclnsivply.  nflentcd  hy  tlinir  prnctionl  oporafioii)  for  tlio  purposi- 
of  discovcriiiff  and  ir^)pr(.'ssiii;»  IJritisli  subjects."' 

"TIk^  injustice  of  tlic  liritisli  claim,  and  tiin  crucify  of  tlic 
British  practice,  have  tested,  for  a  series  of  years,  the  pride  and 
the  patience  of  the  American  government :  but,  still,  every  ex- 
periment was  anxiously  made,  to  avoid  the  last  reiort  of  nations, 
•^he  claim  of  CJrcat  Britain,  in  its  theory,  was  limited  to  the  right 
of  seeking  and  impressing  its  own  subjects,  on  board  of  the  mer- 
chant vessels  of  the  United  States,  although,  in  fatal  experience, 
it  has  been  extended  (as  already  appears)  to  the  seizure  of  the 
subjects  of  every  other  power,  sailing  under  a  voluntary  contract 
with  the  American  merchant;  to  the  .seizure  of  the  naturalized 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  sailing,  also,  under  voluntary  con- 
tracts, which  every  foruiguer,  independent  of  any  act  of  naturali- 
zation, is  at  liberty  to  form  in  every  country ;  and  even  to  the 
seizure  of  the  native  citizens  of  the  United  States,  sailing  on 
board  the  ships  of  their  own  nation,  in  the  prosecution  of  a  law- 
ful commerce.  The  excuse,  for  what  has  been  unfeelingly 
termed,  'partial  mistakes,  and  occasional  abuse,'^  when  the 
right  of  impressment  was  practised  towards  vessels  of  the  United 
States,  is,  in  the  words  of  the  prince  regent's  declaration,  'a  simi- 
larity of  language  and  manners;'  but  was  it  not  known,  when 
tliis  excuse  was  offered  to  the  world,  that  the  Russian,  the  Swede, 
the  Dane  and  the  German;  that  the  Frenchman,  the  Spaniard, 
and  the  PorUiguese;  nay,  that  the  African  and  the  Asiatic;  be- 
tween whom  and  the  people  of  Great  Britain  there  exists  no 
similarity  of  language,  manners,  or  complexion ;  had  been, 
equally  with  the  American  citizen  and  the  British  subject,  the 
victims  of  the  impress  tyranny  ?"  If,  however,  the  excuse  be 
sincere  ;  if  the  real  object  of  the  impressment  be  merely  to  secure 
to  Great  Britain  the  naval  services  of  lier  own  subjects,  and  not 
to  man  her  lleets,  in  every  practicable  mode  of  enlistment,  by 
right,  or  by  wrong ;  and  if  a  just  and  generous  government,  pro- 
fessing mutual  friendship  and  respect,  may  be  presumed  to  prefer 
the  accomplishment,  even  of  a  legitimate  purpose,  by  means  the 


'  British  declaration  of  ihe  lOih  of  January,  1813. 

*  British  declaration  of  the  iOth  of  January,  1813. 

''  Letter  of  Mr.  T'cliering,  Secretary  of  State,  to  Mr.  King,  minister  at  London. 
of  the  26th  of  October,  1790;  and  the  letter  of  Mr.  Marshall,  Secretary  of  State, 
to  Mr.  King,  of  the  20lh  of  September,  1800. 
VOL.  I. — 3 


m 


26 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


[JUNK,  1812. 


*!l 


least  aftlicting  and  injurious  to  others,  why  have  the  overtures  of 
the  United  States,  otruring  other  means  as  otrectual  as  impress- 
ment, for  the  purpose  avowed,  to  the  consideration  and  accept- 
ance of  Great  Britain,  been  forever  eluded  or  rejected  ?  It  has 
been  offered,  that  the  immbcr  of  men  to  be  protected  by  an 
American  vessel,  should  be  limited  by  her  tonnage ;  that  British 
officers  should  be  permitted,  in  British  ports,  to  enter  the  vessel, 
in  order  to  ascertain  the  luimber  of  men  on  board ;  and  that,  in 
case  of  an  addition  to  her  crew,  the  British  subjects  enlisted 
should  be  liable  to  impressment.'  It  was  oll'ered  in  the  solemn 
form  of  a  law,  that  American  seamen  should  be  registered  ;  that 
they  should  be  provided  with  certificates  of  citizenshi|) ;-  and 
that  the  roll  of  the  crew  of  every  vessel  should  be  fornuilly  au- 
thenticated.^ It  was  offered,  that  no  refuge  or  protection  should 
be  given  to  deserters ;  but  that,  on  the  contrary,  they  should  be 
surrendered.*  It  was  <  again  and  again  otTered  to  concur  in  a 
convention,  which  it  was  thought  practicable  to  be  formed,  and 
which  should  settle  the  questions  of  impressment,  in  a  manner 
that  would  be  safe  for  England,  and  satisfactory  to  the  United 
States.''  It  was  offered,  that  each  party  should  prohibit  its  citi- 
zens or  subjects  from  clandestinely  concealing  or  carrying  away, 
from  the  territories  or  colonies  of  the  otherj  any  seaman  belong- 
ing to  the  other  party."  And,  conclusively,  it  has  been  ofl'ered 
and  declared  by  law,  that  '  after  the  termination  of  the  present 
war,  it  should  not  be  la*  nil  to  employ  on  board  of  any  of  the 
public  or  private  vessels  Oi  the  United  States,  any  persons  except 
citizens  of  the  United  States;  and  that  no  foreigner  should  be 
admitted  to  become  a  citizen  hereafter,  who  had  not,  for  the  con- 
tinued term  of  five  years,  resided  within  the  United  States,  with- 
out being,  at  any  time,  during  the  five  years,  out  of  the  territory 
of  the  United  States.' "" 

'  Letter  of  Mr.  .Tefferson,  Secretary  of  State,  to  Mr.  Pinkney,  minister  at  Lon- 
don, dated  the  11th  of  June,  1793,  and  the  letter  of  Mr.  Pickering,  Secretary  of 
State,  to  Mr.  King,  minister  at  London,  dated  the  8th  of  June,  179G. 

2  Act  of  Congress,  passed  the  28th  of  May,  1796. 

"  Letter  of  Mr.  Pickering,  Secretary  of  Slate,  to  Mr.  King,  minister  at  London, 
dated  the  8lh  of  June,  1796. 

*  Project  of  a  treaty  on  the  subject,  between  Mr.  Pickering,  Secretary  of  State, 
and  Mr.  Liston,  the  British  minister,  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  year  1800. 

5  Letter  of  Mr.  King,  minister  at  London,  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  dated  the  15ih 
of  March,  1799. 

<-  Letter  of  Mr.  King  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  dated  in  July,  1 803. 

7  Act  of  Congress,  passed  on  the  3d  of  March,  1813. 


I   " 


CHAP.  I.] 


OP     TIIK    WAR    OF     1812. 


27 


"  But  Grnat  Hritain  lins,  unhfippily,  perceived  in  tlie  acropt- 
uncc  of  the  overtures  of  the  American  govertimeiitjCousequence.s 
injurious  to  her  maritime  poHcy ;  and,  therefore,  withholds  it,  at 
the  expense  of  her  justice.  She  perceives,  perhaps,  a  loss  of  the 
American  nursery  for  her  seamen,  while  she  is  at  peace;  a  loss 
of  the  service  of  American  crews,  while  she  is  at  war ;  and  a  loss 
of  many  of  those  opportunities,  which  have  enabled  her  to  enrich 
her  navy  by  the  spoils  of  the  American  commerce,  without 
exposing  her  own  commerce  to  the  risk  of  retaliation  or  repri- 
sals." 

'<The  present  review  of  the  conduct  of  the  United  States  to- 
wards the  belligerent  powers  of  Europe,  will  bo  regarded  by 
every  candid  mind,  as  a  necessary  medium  to  vindicate  th-jir  na- 
tional character  from  the  unmerited  imputations  of  the  [)rincc 
regent's  declaration  of  the  10th  of  Jamiary,  1813;  and  not  as  a 
medium,  voluntarily  assinned,  according  to  the  insinuations  of 
that  declaration,  for  tlie  revival  of  unworthy  prejudices,  or  vin- 
dictive passions,  in  reference  to  transactions  tliat  are  past.  The 
treaty  of  Amiens,  which  seemed  to  terminate  the  war  in  Europi-, 
seemed,  also,  to  terminate  the  neutral  sulferings  of  America ;  but 
the  hope  of  repose  was,  in  both  respects,  delusive  and  transient. 
The  hostilities  which  were  renewed  between  Great  Britain  and 
France,  in  the  year  1803,  were  immediately  followed  by  a  re- 
newal of  the  aggressions  of  the  belligerent  powers,  upon  the  com- 
mercial rights  and  political  independence  of  the  I'nited  States. 
There  was  scarcely,  therefore,  an  interval  separating  the  aggres- 
sions of  the  first  war  from  the  aggressions  of  the  second  war ; 
and  although,  in  nature,  the  aggressions  continued  to  be  the 
same,  in  extent,  they  became  incalculably  more  destructive.  It 
will  be  seen,  however,  that  the  American  govenmient  inliexibly 
maintained  its  neutral  and  pacific  policy  in  every  extremity  of 
the  latter  trial,  with  the  same  good  faith  and  forbearance,  that,  in 
the  former  trial,  had  distinguished  its  conduct;  until  it  was  com- 
pelled to  choose,  from  the  alternative  of  national  degradation  or 
national  resistance.  And  if  great  Britain  alone  then  became  the 
object  of  the  American  declaration  of  war,  it  will  be  seen,  that 
Great  Britain  alone  iiad  obstinately  closed  the  door  of  amicable 
negotiation. 

"The  American  minister  at  London,  anticipating  the  rupture 
between  Great  Britain  and  France,  had  obtained  assurances  from 


-^ 


28 


HISTORICAL     SKKT(  ir 


[JUNE,  lfil2. 


I 


ihc  Hiiiish  a;ovorninciit,  Mlial,  ill  ilio  t'veiit  of  war,  I  he  iiislriic- 
tioiis  tiivcii  lo  lluiir  luival  olIicoiN  should  ho  (hiiwii  ii|)  with  j)laiii- 
jicss  and  precision;  and, in  i,'(Mi(Mal,  that  the  rights  ol  hclli^uronts 
shoulil  ho  cxurcisc.'d  in  inoiloralion,  and  with  (hie  respect  for 
those  of  neutrals.''  And  in  relation  to  the  important  siihject  ol 
impresstnent,  he  iiad  aftiially  prepared  for  siijiiatiire,  with  the 
assent  of  F^ord  Ilawia'shiiry  and  [^ord  St.  Vincent,  a  convention, 
to  continue  (hiring  five  years,  deelariiii,'  tiiat  *  no  seamen,  nor 
seafariiii,'  person,  should,  u|)()n  tiie  iiia;)!  seas,  and  without  the 
jurisdii'tioii  of  either  parly,  he  demanded  or  taken  out  of  any  ship 
or  vessel,  helonyiiii,'  to  the  citizens  or  suhjeets  of  one  of  the  par- 
lies, hy  the  puhlic  or  private  armed  ships,  or  meii-ol-war,  heloiiij- 
inc;  to,  or  in  th(!  service  of,  the  otiier  parly;  and  that  strict  orders 
should  be  iriviJii  for  tlu;  due  observance  of  tlu;  eiiizaacmeiit.'^ 
This  convention,  which  explicitly  reliiitpiished  impressments  from 
American  vessels  on  the  hiali  seas,  and  to  which  the  British 
ministers  had,  at  first,  a!j;reed,  Lord  St.  Vincent  was  desirous 
afterwards  to  modify, 'stating,  that  on  further  relleiUioii.  he  was 
of  opinion  that  the  narrow  seas  should  ho.  expressly  excepted, 
tlicy  havinc;  beep,  as  his  lonlship  rcunarked,  immernorially  con- 
sidered to  be  within  the  dominion  of  Ureal  llritain.'  The  Ameri- 
can minister,  however, '  havina;  supposed,  from  the  teiiour  of  his 
conversations  with  I^ord  St.  Vincent,  that  the.  doctrine  of  metre 
c/austim  would  not  be  revived  against  the  Unitiid  States  on  this 
occasion,  but  tiiat  England  would  be  content  with  the  limited 
jurisdiction,  or  dominion,  over  the  seas  afljacent  to  her  territories, 
which  is  assigned  by  liie  law  of  nations  to  other  stales,  was  dis- 
appointed, on  receiving  Lord  St.  Vincent's  communication  ;  and 
chose  rather  lo  abandon  the  negotiation  than  to  acquiesce  in  the 
doctrine  it  proposed  to  establisii.'-'  IJut  it  was  still  some  siitis- 
faction  to  receive  a  formal  declaration  trom  the  British  govern- 
ment, communicated  by  its  minister  at  W'  shinglon,  after  the 
recommencement  of  the  war  in  JOurope,  which  promised,  in 
effect,  to  reinstate  the  practice  of  naval  blockades,  upon  the  prin- 
ciples of  the  law  of  nations;  so  tliat  no  blockade  should  be  con- 
sidered as  existing,  <  unless  in  resp(!ct  of  particular  ports,  whicii 
might,  be  actually  invested  ;  and,  then,  that  the  vessels  bound  to 

'  Le.'ter  of  jMr.  King  lo  the  Secretary  of  Stale,  dated  the  16lh  of  May,  1803. 
'Letter  of  .Mr.  King  to  the  Secretary  of  Siaie,  dated  July,  1803. 
■'  Letter  of  Mr.  King  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  dated  July,  1S03. 


i 


#» 


CHAP.  I  1 


OF     THK     WAR     OF     IS12, 


99 


4 
1 


sucli  ports  should  not  hn  captured,  unless  thny  had  previously 
been  warned  mt  to  enter  ilifrn." 

'•  Ail  the  precautions  of  the  AuKirJcan  government  were,  never- 
theless, inelTectual;  and  the  assurances  oldi''  British  government 
were,  ill  no  instance,  verified.  The  outrage  o(  nnpriissment  was 
again,  indiscriminately,  perpetrated  upon  the  crew  o(  t^very 
American  vessel,  and  on  every  sea.  Tlie  enormity  of  blockades, 
estahlislied  by  an  order  in  council,  without  a  legitimate  object, 
and  maintained  by  an  order  in  council,  without  the  application 
of  a  competent  force,  was  more  and  more  developed.  The  rule, 
denominated  'the  rule  of  the  war  of  175(),'  was  revived  in  an 
aflected  style  of  moderation,  but  in  a  spirit  of  more  rigorous  exe- 
cution.^ Tlie  lives,  the  liberty,  the  fortunes  and  the  happiness  ot 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  engaged  in  the  pursuits  of  navi- 
gation and  commerce,  were  once  more  siibjected  to  the  violence 
and  cupidity  of  the  British  cruisers.  And,  in  brief,  so  grievous, 
so  intolerable,  had  the  alihctions  of  the  nation  become,  that  the 
people,  with  one  mind  and  one  voice,  called  loudly  upon  their 
govermnent  for  redress  and  protection  ;^  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States,  participating  in  the  feelings  and  resentments  of  the 
time,  urged  upon  the  executive  magistrate  the  necessity  of  an 
immediate  demand  of  reparation  from  Great  Britain  ;*  while  the 
same  patriotic  spirit,  which  had  opposed  British  usurpation  in 
17J>3,  and  encountered  French  hostility  in  1798,  was  again 
pledged,  in  every  variety  of  form,  to  the  maintenance  of  the  na- 
tional honour  and  independence,  during  the  more  arduous  trial 
tiiat  arose  in  1805." 

"It  has  been  shown,  that  a  treaty  proposed,  emphatically  by 
the  Britisli  minister  resident  in  Philadelphia, 'as  the  means  of 
drying  up  every  source  of  complaint,  and  irritation,  upon  the 
head  of  impressment,'  was  '  deemed  utterly  inadmissible,'  by  the 
American  government,  because  it  did  not  sullicienily  provide  for 


'  Letler  of  Mr.  Merry  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  dated  the  12lli  of  April,  ISO-l, 
and  the  enclosed  copy  of  a  letter  from  Mr.  Nepean,  the  Secntary  of  the  Admi- 
ralty, to  Mr.  Hammond,  the  British  under  Secretary  of  State  for  foreign  a/Tair-s, 
dated  January  5,  1804. 

"  Orders  in  council  of  the  24th  of  June,  1803,  and  thel7th  of  August,  1805. 

3  Memorials  of  Boston,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  *Scc.,  presented  to 
Congress  in  the  end  of  the  year  1805,  and  the  beginning  of  the  year  1800. 

«  Resolutions  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  of  the  10th  and  Mlh  of  Feb- 
ruary, IsoGj  .iMit    lie  resolution  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 

3* 


mm 


n 


'1' 

iil 


<  >' 


I, 

111' 

III  ; , 


30 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


IJUNK,  1812, 


that  object,'  It  has,  also,  been  shown,  that  anolhcr  treaty,  pro- 
l)osed  by  the  American  nunister,  at  London,  was  laid  aside, 
because  the  British  government,  while  it  was  willing  to  relin- 
(liiish,  expressly,  impressments  upon  American  vessels,  on  the 
high  seas,  insisted  upon  an  exception,  in  relerence  to  the  narrow 
seas  claimed  as  a  part  of  the  British  dominion  :  and  experience 
demonstrated,  that,  although  the  spoliations  committed  upon  the 
American  commerce,  might  admit  of  reparation,  by  the  jjnynient 
of  a  pecuniary  equivalent;  yet,  consulting  the  lionour  and  the 
leelings  of  the  nation,  it  was  im})ossil)le  to  receive  satisfaction 
for  the  cruelties  of  impressment,  by  any  other  means,  than  by 
an  entire  discontinuance  of  tlie  |)raclice.  When,  therefore,  the 
envoys  extraordinary  were  appointed  in  the  year  ISOO  to  nego- 
tiate with  the  British  government,  every  authority  was  given 
for  the  purposes  of  conciliation;  nay,  an  act  of  Congress,  prohibit- 
ing the  importation  of  certain  articles  of  British  niaiiufacture  into 
the  United  States,  was  suspended,  in  proof  of  a  friendly  dispo- 
sition ;^  but  it  was  declared,  that  "the;  suppression  of  impress- 
ment, and  the  defhiition  of  blockades,  were  absolutely  indispens- 
able ;'  and  that,  •'  without  a  provision  against  impressments,  no 
treaty  should  be  concluded.'  The  American  envoys,  accordingly, 
took  care  to  communicate  to  the  British  commissioners,  the  limita- 
tions of  their  powers.  Influenced,  at  the  same  time,  by  a  sincen; 
desire  to  terminate  the  dilferences  between  the  two  nations ; 
knowing  the  solicitude  of  their  government,  to  relieve  its  sea- 
faring citizens  from  actual  sufferance;  listening  with  confidence 
to  assurances  and  explanations  of  the  British  commissioners,  in 
a  sense  favourable  to  their  wishes ;  and  judging  from  a  state  of 
information,  tiiat  gave  no  immediate  cause  to  doubt  the  sufK- 
ciency  of  t}"i0se  assurances  and  explanations;  the  envoys  rather 
than  terminate  the  negotiation  without  any  arrangeinfut,  were 
willing  to  roly  upon  the  eliica(;y  of  a  substitute,  fur  a  positive 
article  in  the  treaty,  to  bo  submitted  to  the  (.-onsideration  of  their 
government,  as  this,  according  to  the  declaration  of  the  liritish 
commissioners,  was  the  only  arrangement  they  wore  |)ernatled, 

'  Mr.  Liston's  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  dated  the  4th  of  February,  ISOO; 
and  the  letter  of  Mr.  Pickering,  Secretary  of  Slate,  to  the  President  of  the  I'niied 
States,  dated  the  20th  of  February,  1800. 

2  Act  of  Congress,  passed  the  I8th  of  April,  1806;  and  the  act  suspending  it, 
passed  the  I9th  of  December,  1806. 


■I 


■ 


CHAP.  I.] 


OK     THE    WAR    OF     18  12. 


31 


! 


;it  that  time,  to  propose  or  to  allow.  The  substitute  was  pre- 
sented in  the  iorin  of  a  note  iVom  the  liritish  commissioners  to 
the  American  envoys,  and  contained  a  pledge,  <that  instructions 
had  been  given,  and  should  be  repeated  and  enforced,  for  the 
observance  of  the  greatest  caution  in  the  impressing  of  British 
seamen  ;  that  the  strictest  care  should  be  taken  to  preserve  llie 
citizens  of  the  United  States  from  any  molestation  or  injury  ;  and 
that  immediate  and  prompt  redress  should  be  afforded,  upon  any 
representation  of  injury  sustained  by  them." 

"  Inasmuch,  Iiowever,  as  the  treaty  contained  no  provision 
against  impressment,  and  it  was  seen  by  the  government,  when 
the  treaty  was  under  'consideration  for  ratification,  that  the  pledge 
contained  in  the  substitute  was  not  complied  witii,  but,  on  tlie 
contrary,  that  the  impressments  were  continued  with  undimi- 
nished violence  in  the  American  seas,  so  long  after  the  alleged 
date  of  the  instructions,  which  were  to  arrest  them;  that  the 
practical  ineflicacy  of  tlic  substitute  could  not  be  doubted  by  the 
government  here,  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  was  necessarily 
declined;  and  it  lias  since  appeared,  that  after  a  change  in  the 
liritish  ministry  had  taken  place,  it  was  declared  by  the  secretary 
lor  foreign  affairs,  that  no  engagements  were  entered  into,  on  the 
part  of  iiis  majesty,  as  connected  with  the  treaty,  except  such  as 
appear  upon  tlie  face  of  it.^ 

"  The  American  government,  however,  with  unabating  solici- 
tude for  peace,  urged  an  immediate  renewal  of  the  negotiations 
on  the  basis  of  the  abortive  treaty,  until  this  course  was  peremp- 
torily declared,  by  the  British  government,  to  be  '  wholly  inad- 
missible.' 

••  But,  independent  of  the  •'ilence  of  the  proposed  treaty,  upon 
the  great  topic  of  American  complaint,  and  of  the  view  which 
has  been  taken  of  the  projected  substitute,  the  cotemporaiieous 
declaration  of  the  liriusli  commissioners,  delivered  by  the  com- 
mand of  their  sovereign,  and  to  which  the  American  envoys 
refused  to  make  themselves  a  party,  or  to  give  the  slightest 
degree  of  sanction,  was  regarded  by  the  American  government 
as  ample  cause  of  rejection.  In  reference  to  the  French  decree, 
which  had  been  issued  at  Berlin  on  the  21st  of  November,  lSO(i, 


A,  '-:  . 


'  Noteofihe  British  commissioners,  daieil  8ih  of  November,  180G. 

2  Mr.  Canning's  letter  to  the  American  envoys,  dated  27lh  October,  1807. 

'  Same  letter. 


m! 


T\ 


)'V. 


4i 


u 


32 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


[JUNE,  1812, 


it  was  declared,  that  if  France  should  carry  the  threats  of  that 
decree  into  execution,  and  '  if  neutral  nations,  contrary  to  all 
expectation,  sliould  acquiesce  in  such  usurpations,  his  majesty 
might,  probably,  be  compelled,  however  reluctantly,  to  retaliate, 
in  his  just  defence,  and  to  adopt,  in  regard  to  the  commerce  of 
neutral  nations  with  his  enemies,  the  same  measures  which  those 
nations  should  have  permitted  to  be  enforced,  against  their  com- 
merce with  his  subjects :'  '  that  his  majesty  could  not  enter  into 
the  stipulations  of  the  present  treaty,  without  an  explanation 
from  the  United  States  of  their  intentions,  or  a  reservation  on  the 
part  of  his  majesty,  in  the  case  above-mentioned,  if  it  should 
ever  occur ;'  and  '  that,  without  a  formal  abandonnuMit,  or  tacit 
relinquishment  of  the  unjust  pretensions  of  France ;  or  without 
such  conduct  and  assurances  upon  the  part  of  the  United  States, 
as  should  give  security  to  his  majesty,  that  they  would  not  sub- 
mit to  the  French  innovations  in  the  established  system  of  mari- 
time law,  his  majesty  would  not  consider  himself  bound,  by  the 
present  signature  of  his  commissioners,  to  ratify  the  treaty,  or 
precluded  from  adopting  such  measures  as  might  seem  necessary 
for  counteracting  the  designs  of  the  enemy." 

"  The  reservation  of  a  power  to  invalidate  a  solemn  treaty  at 
the  pleasure  of  one  of  the  parties,  and  the  menace  of  inflicting 
punishment  upon  the  United  States  for  the  oilbnces  of  another 
nation,  proved,  in  the  event,  a  prelude  to  the  scenes  of  violence 
which  Great  Britain  was  then  about  to  display,  and  which  it 
would  have  been  improper  for  the  American  negotiators  to  anti- 
cipate. For,  if  a  commentary  were  wanting  to  explain  the  real 
design  of  such  conduct,  it  would  be  found  in  the  lact,  that  within 
eight  days  from  the  date  of  the  treaty,  and  before  it  was  possible 
for  the  British  government  to  have  known  the  olibct  of  the  Ber- 
lin decree  on  the  American  goverinnent ;  nay,  even  before  the 
American  government  had  itself  heard  of  that  decree,  the  de- 
struction of  American  commerce  was  commenced  by  the  order 
in  council  of  the  7th  of  January,  1807,  which  annoiniced,  'that 
no  vessel  should  be  permitted  to  trade  from  one  port  to  another, 
both  which  ports  should  belong  to,  or  be  in  possession  of  France 
or  her  allies:  or  should  be  so  far  under  their  control,  as  that 
British  vessels  might  not  trade  freely  thereat.'" 


Note  of  the  British  commissioners,  dated  the  31st  of  December,  1806. 
the  answer  of  Messrs.  Monroe  and  Pinkney  to  that  note. 
'  Order  in  council  of  January  7,  1807. 


Also, 


LoJ 


CHAP.  I.] 


OF     THK    WAR    OF     1812. 


33 


'■■ 


' 


'; 


"  During  the  whole  period  of  this  negotiation,  which  did  not 
finally  close  until  the  Jiritisli  government  declared,  in  the  month 
of  October,  1807,  that  negotiation  was  no  longer  admissible,  the 
iioursc  pursued  by  the  Britis.i  squadron,  stationed  more  imme- 
iliatcly  on  the  American  coast,  was,  in  the  extreme,  vexatious, 
predatory  and  hostile.  The  territorial  jurisdiction  of  the  United 
States,  extending,  upon  the  principles  of  the  law  of  nations,  at 
least  a  league  over  the  adjacent  ocean,  was  totally  disregarded 
and  contemned.  Vessels  employed  in  the  coasting  trade,  or  in 
ilie  business  of  tlie  pilot  and  the  fisherman,  were  objects  of  inces- 
sant violence  ;  their  petty  cargoes  were  plundered;  and  some  of 
their  scanty  crews  were  often  cither  impressed  or  wounded,  or 
killed  by  the  tbrce  of  lirilish  frigates,  liritish  ships  of  war 
hovered,  in  warlike  display,  upon  the  coast ;  blockaded  the  ports 
of  the  United  States,  so  that  no  vessel  could  enter  or  depart  in 
safety ;  penetrated  the  bays  and  rivers,  and  even  anchored  in  the 
harbours  of  the  United  States,  to  exercise  a  jurisdiction  of  impress- 
ment ;  threatened  the  towns  and  villages  with  conflagration  ;  and 
wantonly  discharged  musketry,  as  well  as  cannon,  upon  the  in- 
habitants of  an  open  and  unprotected  country.  The  neutrality 
of  the  American  territory  was  violated  on  every  occasion  ;  and, 
at  last,  the  American  government  was  doomed  to  sutler  the 
greatest  indignity  which  could  be  offered  to  a  sovereign  and  in- 
dependent nation,  in  the  ever  memorable  attack  of  a  liritish  fifty 
^un  ship,  undtr  the  countenance  of  the  British  squadron,  an- 
ehored  within  the  waters  of  the  United  States,  upon  the  frigate 
(Chesapeake,  peaceably  prosecuting  a  distant  voyage.  The  Bri- 
tish government  affected,  from  time  to  time,  to  disapprove  and 
condemn  these  outrages ;  but  the  oflicors  who  perpetrated  them 
were  generally  applauded  ;  if  tried,  they  were  acquitted;  if  re- 
moved from  (he  American  station,  it  was  only  to  be  promoted  in 
another  station;  and  if  atonement  were  olfcred,  as  in  (he  flagrant 
instance  of  the  frigate  Chesapeake,  the  atonement  was  so  ungra- 
cious in  the  manner,  and  so  tardy  in  the  result,  as  to  betray  the 
want  of  (hat  conciliatory  spirit  which  ought  to  have  characterized 
it." 


^■■'■:i\lv-' 


'  Evidence  of  tliese  facts  reported  to  C\)ngress  in  IVovember,  180(5. 

Uocument.s  re.specling  Captain  Love,  of  the  Driver;  Captain  Whitb\',  of  the 
Leandcr,  &c. 

Correspondence  respictinj:;  the  fri<;atc  Chesapeake,  with  Mr.  Canning,  at 
London;  with  Mr.  Uose,  at  Washington  ;  with  Mr.  t'rskine,  at  Washington, &c. 


[■Il 


ijr  I 

I- 


I' 


'*. 


34 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


[JUNE,  1812. 


"But  the  American  government, soothing  the  exasperated  spirit 
of  the  people,  by  a  proclamation  which  interdicted  the  entrance 
of  all  British  armed  vessels  into  the  harbours  and  waters  of  the 
United  States,'  neither  commenced  hostilities  against  Great  Bri- 
tain, nor  sought  a  defensive  alliance  with  France,  nor  relaxed  in 
its  firm,  but  conciliatory  efforts,  to  enforce  the  claims  of  justice 
upon  the  jionour  of  both  nations. 

"  The  rival  ambition  of  Great  Britain  and  France,  now,  how- 
ever, approached  tlie  consummntlon,  which,  involving  tlie  de- 
struction of  all  neutral  rights,  upon  'ui  avowed  principle  of  ac- 
tion, could  not  fail  to  render  an  actual  state  of  war  comparatively 
more  safe  and  more  prosperous  than  the  imaginary  state  of  peace 
to  which  neutrals  were  reduced.  The  just  and  impartial  conduct 
of  a  neutral  nation  ceased  to  be  its  shield  and  its  safeguard,  when 
the  conduct  of  the  belligerent  powers  towards  each  other  became 
the  only  criterion  of  the  law  of  war.  The  wrong  committed  by 
one  of  the  belligerent  powers  was  thu?  made  the  signal  for  tlie 
perpetration  of  a  greater  wrong  by  the  other;  and  if  the  Ame- 
rican government  complained  to  both  powers,  their  answer, 
although  it  never  denied  the  causes  of  complaint,  invariably 
retorted  an  idle  and  otfensive  inquiry  into  the  priority  of  their 
respective  aggressions  ;  or  each  demanded  a  course  of  resistance 
against  its  antagonist,  which  was  calculated  to  prostrate  the 
American  right  of  self-government,  and  to  coerce  the  United 
States  against  their  interest  and  their  policy,  into  becoming  au 
associate  in  the  war.  But  the  American  government  never  did, 
and  never  can,  admit  that  a  belligerent  power, '  in  taking  steps 
to  restrain  the  violence  of  its  enemy,  and  to  retort  upon  them  the 
evils  of  their  own  injustice,'^  is  entitled  to  disturb  and  to  destroy 
the  rights  of  a  neutral  power,  as  recognized  and  established  by 
the  law  of  nations.  It  was  impossible,  indeed,  that  the  real 
features  of  the  miscalled  retaliatory  system  should  be  long  masked 
from  the  world ;  when  Great  Britain,  even  in  her  acts  of  pro- 
fessed retaliation,  declared  that  France  was  unable  to  execute 
the  hostile  denunciations  of  her  decrees ;''  and  when  Great  Bri- 
tain herself  unblushingly  entered  into  the  same  commerce  with 
her  enemy  (through  the  medium  of  forgeries,  perjuries  and 
licenses),  from  which  she  had  interdicted  unotfending  neutrals. 


'  Proclamation  of  the  2d  of  July,  1807. 

2  Orders  in  council  of  the  7th  of  January,  1807. 


3  Ibid. 


■>■■■  '\:V 


CHAP.  I.] 


OF    THE    WAR    OF     1812. 


35 


,1 


The  pride  of  naval  superiority,  and  the  cravings  of  commercial 
monopoly,  gave,  after  all,  the  impulse  and  direction  to  the  coun- 
cils of  the  British  cabinet;  while  the  vast,  although  visionary, 
projects  of  France,  furnished  occasions  and  pretexts  for  acconi- 
plifhing  the  objects  of  those  councils. 

"The  British  minister,  resident  at  Washington,  in  the  year 
1804,  having  distinctly  recognized,  in  the  name  of  his  sovereign, 
the  legitimate  principles  of  blockade,  the  American  government 
received,  with  some  surprise  and  solicitude,  the  successive  notifi- 
cations of  the  9th  of  August,  1804,  the  8th  of  April,  1806,  and, 
more  particularly,  of  the  16th  of  May,  1806,  announcing,  by  the 
last  notification,  'a  blockade  of  the  coast,  rivers,  and  ports,  from 
the  river  Elbe  to  the  port  of  Brest,  both  inclusive. '^  In  none  of 
the  notified  instances  of  blockade,  were  the  principles  that  had 
been  recognized  in  1804,  adopted  and  pursued;  and  it  will  be 
recollected  by  all  Europe,  that  neither  at  the  time  of  the  notifica- 
tion of  the  16th  of  May,  1806,  nor  at  the  time  of  excepting  the 
Elbe  and  Ems,  from  the  operation  of  that  notification,^  nor  at 
any  time  during  the  continuance  of  the  French  war,  was  there 
an  adequate  naval  force  actually  applied  by  Great  Britain,  for 
the  purpose  of  maintaining  a  blockade  from  the  river  Elbe  to  the 
port  of  Brest.  It  was,  then,  in  the  language  of  the  day,  'a.  mere 
paper  blockade ;'  a  manifest  infraction  of  the  law  of  nations ; 
and  an  act  of  peculiar  injustice  to  the  United  States,  as  the  only 
neutral  power  against  which  it  couM  practically  operate.  But 
whatever  may  have  been  the  sense  of  the  American  government 
on  the  occasion,  and  whatever  might  be  the  disposition  to  avoid 
making  tiiis  the  ground  of  an  open  rupture  with  Great  Britain, 
the  case  assun^ed  a  character  of  the  highest  interest,  when,  inde- 
pendent of  its  own  injurious  consequences,  France,  in  the  Berlin 
decree  of  the  21st  of  November,  1806,  recited,  as  a  chief  cause 
for  placing  the  British  islands  in  a  state  of  blockade,  <  that  Great 
Britain  declares  blockaded  places  before  which  she  has  not  a 
single  vessel  of  war;  and  even  places,  which  her  united  forces 
would  be  incapable  of  blockading;  such  as  entire  coasts,  and  a 
whole  empire :  an  unequaled  abuse  of  the  right  of  blockade, 

>  Lord  Harrowby's  note  to  Mr.  Monroe,  dated  the  9lh  of  August,  1804;  and 
Mr.  Fox's  notes  to  Mr.  Monroe,  dated  respectively  the  8th  of  April  and  the  16th 
of  May,  1806. 

*  Lord  Howick's  note  to  Mr.  Monroe,  dated  the  25th  of  September,  1806. 


'  v  ''■'  '■  V  »■ 


■"■m 


•  ..-.■1 


I ;. 


■J.    r  I- 


*:iJ  i 


: .!; 


!i 


36 


HISTOniCAL     SKKTCH 


[JUNK,  1812. 


that  had  no  other  object  than  to  interrupt  the  communications  of 
difl'eront  nations ;  and  to  extend  the  conitncrce  and  industry  ol' 
England  upon  tiic  ruin  of"  those  nations."  The  American  govern- 
ment aims  not,  and  never  has  aimed,  at  the  justification  either  of 
Great  Britain  or  of  France,  in  their  career  of  crimination  and 
recrimination;  but  it  is  of  some  importaicc  to  observe,  that  if 
the  blockade  of  JNlay,  ISOfi,  was  an  unia  vful  blockade,  and  il 
the  right  of  retaliation  arose  with  the  first  unlawfnl  attack  made 
by  a  bcllig(Ment  power  upon  neutral  rights,  Great  Britain  has  yet 
to  answer  to  mankind,  according  to  the  rule  of  her  own  acknow- 
ledgment, for  all  the  calamities  of  the  retaliatory  warfare.  France, 
wlicther  right  or  wrong,  made  the  British  system  of  blockade  the 
foundation  of  the  Berlin  decree;  and  France  had  an  equal  right 
with  Great  Britain  to  demand  Irom  the  United  States  an  opposi- 
tion to  every  encroachment  upon  the  privileges  of  the  neutral 
character.  It  is  enough,  however,  on  the  present  occasion,  for 
the  American  government  to  observe,  that  it  possessed  no  power 
to  prevent  the  framing  of  the  Berlin  decree,  and  to  disclaim  any 
approbation  of  its  principles,  or  acquiescence  in  its  operations: 
for,  it  neither  belonged  to  Great  Britain  nor  to  France  to  pre- 
scribe to  the  American  government  the  time,  or  the  mode,  or  the 
degree,  of  resistance,  to  tlie  indignities  and  the  outrages  with 
which  each  of  those  nations  in  its  turn  assailed  the  United  Slates." 
"  When  the  American  government  received  intelligence  tliat 
the  orders  of  the  11th  of  November,  1807,  had  been  under  the 
consideration  of  the  British  cabinet,  and  were  actually  prepared 
for  promulgation,  it  was  anticipated  that  France,  in  a  zealous 
prosecution  of  tlie  retaliatory  warfare,  would  soon  produce  an 
act  of  at  least  equal  injustice  and  hostility.  The  crisis  existed, 
therefore,  at  which  the  United  States  were  compelled  to  decide, 
either  to  withdraw  their  seafaring  citizens,  and  their  commercial 
wealth  from  the  ocean,  or  to  leave  the  interests  of  the  mariner 
and  the  merchant  exposed  to  certain  destruction ;  or  to  engage  in 
open  and  active  war  lor  the  protection  and  defence  of  those  in- 
terests. The  principles  and  the  habits  of  tlie  American  govern- 
ment were  still  disposed  to  neutrality  and  peace.  In  weighing 
the  nature  and  the  amount  of  the  aggressions  which  had  been 
perpetrated,  or  which  were  threatened,  if  there  were  any  pre- 
ponderance to  determine  the  balance  against  one  of  the  bellige- 
■  Berlin  decree  of  (he  21st  of  November,  1606. 


i 


mi 


CHAP.  I.] 


OF    THE     WAR    OF     1812. 


37 


-} 


rent  powers  rather  than  tlie  other,  as  the  object  of  a  declaration 
oC  war,  it  was  against  Great  Britain,  at  least,  upon  the  vital  in- 
terest of  impressment,  and  the  obvious  superiority  of  her  naval 
means  of  annoyance.  The  French  decrees  wore,  indeed,  as 
obnoxious  in  their  formation  and  design  as  the  Ikitish  orders; 
but  the  government  of  Fiance  claimed  and  exercised  no  right  ot 
impressment;  and  the  maritime  spoliations  of  France  were,  com- 
paratively, restricted,  not  only  by  her  own  weakness  on  the  ocean, 
but  by  the  constant  and  i)«rvading  vigilance  of  the  fleets  of  her 
enemy.  The  diliiculty  of  seleclion,  the  indiscretion  of  encoun- 
tering, at  once,  both  of  the  oH'cnding  powers  ;  and,  above  all,  the 
hope  of  an  early  return  of  justice,  under  the  dispensations  of  the 
ancient  public  law,  prevailed  in  the  councils  of  the  American 
government;  and  it  was  resolved  to  attempt  the  preservation  of 
its  neutrality  and  its  peace,  of  its  citizens  and  its  resources,  by  a 
voluntary  suspension  of  the  commerce  and  navigation  of  the 
United  States.  It  is  true,  that  for  the  minor  outrages  committed 
under  the  pretext  of  the  rule  of  war  of  1756,  the  citizens  of  every 
denomination  had  demanded  from  their  government,  in  the  year 
1805,  protection  and  redress;  it  is  true,  that  for  the  unparalleled 
enormities  of  the  year  1807,  the  citizens  of  every  denomination 
again  demanded  from  their  government  protection  and  redress ; 
but  it  is,  also,  a  truth,  conclusively  established  by  every  mani- 
festation of  the  sense  of  the  American  people,  as  well  as  of  their 
government,  that  any  honourable  means  of  protection  and  redress 
were  preferred  to  the  last  resort  of  arms.  The  American  govern- 
ment might  honourably  retire,  for  a  time,  from  the  scene  of  con- 
flict and  collision  ;  but  it  could  no  longer,  with  honour,  permit  its 
flag  tu  be  insultod,  its  citizens  to  be  enslaved,  and  its  property  to 
be  plundered  on  the  highway  of  nations. 

"  Under  these  impressions,  the  restrictivf  yystem  of  the  United 
States  was  introduced.  In  December,  1807,  an  embargo  was 
imposed  upon  all  American  vessels  and  merchandize,*  on  prin- 
ciples similar  to  those  which  originated  and  regulated  the  em- 
bargo law,  authorized  to  be  laid  by  the  President  of  the  United 
States,  in  Jie  year  1794;  but  soon  afterwards,  in  the  genuine 
spirit  of  the  policy  that  prescribed  the  measure,  it  was  declared 
by  law, '  that  in  the  event  of  such  peace,  or  suspension  of  hostili- 
ties between  the  belligerent  powers  of  Europe,  or  such  changes 

■  Act  of  Congress,  passed  the  22d  of  December,  1807. 
VOL.  I. — 4 


■1 


3 


38 


HIvSTORICAL    SKETCH 


[JUNE,  1812. 


m  their  measures  aHecting  neutral  commerce,  as  might  render 
that  of  the  United  States  safe,  in  the  judgment  of  lh(;  President 
0  "  the  United  States,  he  was  p,uthori/ed  to  suspend  tiie  embargo, 
in  wliole  or  in  part."     The  pressure  of  tlie  embargo  was  thought, 
however,  so  severe  upon  every  part  of  the  community,  that  the 
American  government,  notwitiistanding  tiie  neutral  character  of 
the  measure,  determined  upon  some  relaxation  ;  and,  accordingly, 
the  embargo  being  raised,  as  to  all  other  nations,  a  system  of  non- 
intercourse  and  non-importation  was  substituted  in  March,  IHOf), 
as  to  Great  Britain  and  France,  which  prohibited  all  voyages  to 
the  British  or  French  dominions,  and  all  trade  in  articles  of  Bri- 
tl^jli  or  French  product  or  manufacture.^    liut  still  adiiering  to 
the  neutral  and  pacific  policy  of  the  government,  it  was  declared, 
<that  the  President  of  the  United  States  should  be  authorized,  in 
case  either  France  or  Great  Britain  should  so  revoke  or  modify 
her  edicts,  as  that  they  should  cease  to  violate  the  neutral  com- 
merce of  the  United  States,  to  declare  the  same  by  proclamation, 
after  which  the  trade  of  the  United  States  might  be  renewed  with 
the  nation  so  doing."    These  appeals  to  the  justice  and  the  in- 
terests of  the   belligerent  powers  proving  ineUectual,  and  the 
necesjities  of  the  country  increasing,  it  was  finally  resolved  by 
the  American  government  to  take  the  hazards  of  a  war ;  to  re- 
voke its  restrictive  system,  and  to  exclude  British  and  French 
armed  vessels  from  the  harbours  and  waters  of  the  United  States; 
but,  again,  emphatically  to  announce, '  that  in  case  either  Great 
Britain  or  France  should,  before  the  3d  of  March,  181 1,  so  revoke 
or  modify  her  edicts,  as  that  they  should  cease  to  violate  the 
neutral  commerce  of  the  United  States;  and  if  the  other  nation 
should  not,  within  three  months  thereafter,  so  revoke  or  modify 
her  edicts,  in  like  manner,'  the  provisions  of  the  non-intercourse 
and  non-importation  law  should,  at  the   expiration  of  three 
months,  be  revived  against  th.^  nation  refusing,  or  neglecting  to 
revoke  or  modify  its  edict."* 

"On  the  expiration  of  three  months  from  the  date  of  the  presi- 
dent's proclamation,  the  non-intercourse  and  non-importation  law 
was,  of  course,  to  be  revived  against  Great  Britain,  unless,  during 

'  Act  of  Congress,  passed  the  22d  of  April,  1808. 
2  Act  of  Congress,  passed  the  1st  of  March,  1809. 
'  1  llh  section  of  the  last  cited  act  of  Congress 
«  Act  of  Congress,  passed  the  1st  of  May,  1810. 


m 


CllAI'.  1.] 


()!•'     TIIK     WAR     OF     1812. 


' 


that  period,  licr  orders  in  council  sliould  be  revoKcd.  The  s,  b- 
ject  was,  therefore,  most  anxiously  and  most  steadily  pressed 
upon  the  justice  and  the  magnanimity  of  the  IJritish  government; 
and  even  when  the  hope  of  success  expired,  by  the  lapse  of  the 
period  prescribed  in  one  act  of  Congress,  the  United  States  opened 
the  door  of  reconciliation  by  another  act,  which,  in  the  year  181 1, 
again  provided,  that  in  case,  at  any  time,  'Great  Britain  should 
so  revo':e  or  modify  her  edicts,  as  that  they  shall  cease  to  violate 
the  neutral  commerce  of  the  United  States,  the  President  of  the 
United  States  should  declare  the  fact  by  proclamation ;  and  that 
the  restrictions,  previously  imposed,  sliould,  from  the  date  of 
such  proclamation, cease  and  be  discontinued."  But,  unhappily, 
every  appeal  to  the  justice  and  magnanimity  of  Great  Britain 
was  now,  as  heretofore,  fruitless  and  forlorn.  Sh"  had,  at  this 
epoch,  im|)ressed  from  the  crews  of  Auierican  m*  ait  vessels, 
peaceably  navigating  the  high  seas,  not  less  than  *ix  thousand 
mariners,  who  claimed  to  be  citizens  of  the  United  States,  and 
who  were  denied  all  opportunity  to  verify  their  claii.is.  She  had 
seized  and  confiscated  the  commercial  property  of  American  citi- 
zens to  an  incalculable  amount.  She  had  United  in  the  enormi- 
ties of  France  to  declare  a  great  proportion  of  the  terraqueous 
globe  in  a  state  of  blockade  ;  chasing  the  American  merchant  flag 
effectually  from  the  ocean.  She  had  contemptuously  disregarded 
the  neutrality  of  the  American  territory,  and  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  American  laws,  within  the  waters  and  liarbours  of  the  United 
States,  She  was  enjoying  the  emoluments  of  a  surreptitious 
trade,  stained  with  every  species  of  fraud  and  corruption,  which 
gave  to  the  belligerent  powers  the  advantages  of  peace,  while 
the  neutral  powers  were  involved  in  the  evils  of  war.  She  had, 
in  short,  usurped  and  exercised  on  the  water,  a  tyranny  similar 
to  that  which  her  great  antagonist  had  usurped  and  exercised 
upon  the  land.  And,  amidst  all  these  proofs  of  ambition  and 
avarice,  she  demanded  that  the  victims  of  her  usurpations  and 
lier  violence  sliould  revere  her  as  the  sole  defender  of  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  mankind. 

"  When,  therefore.  Great  Britain,  in  manifest  violation  of  her 

solemn  promises,  refused  to  follow  the  example  of  France,  by 

the  repeal  of  her  orders  in  council,  the  American  government 

was  compelled  to  contemplate  a  resort  to  arms,  as  the  only  re- 

'  Act  of  Congress,  passed  the  2d  of  March,  1811. 


"  ■•'7' 


V'l 


v'^vh}\ 


40 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


[.MINK,  1812. 


n 


i  -^ 


*  ! 


maiiiing  course  to  bn  pursiujd  lor  its  honour,  its  itidcppiidorico, 
and  its  siifoty.  VVIiatcvor  depended  upon  the  United  Slates 
thcnnselves,  tlio  United  States  had  porlbrnied,  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  peace,  in  resistance  oClhe  French  decrees  as  well  as  of  the 
British  orders.  Wliat  had  been  recpiired  from  France,  in  its 
relation  to  tlie  neutral  character  of  the  United  States,  France  had 
perfornied,  by  the  revocation  of  its  Horiin  and  Milan  decrees. 
liut  what  depended  U|)on  (Jreat  Uritain,  for  the  purposes  of  jns- 
lic  ,  in  the  repeal  of  her  ord(M\s  in  council,  was  withheld ;  and 
new  evasions  were  sought  when  the  old  were  exhausted.  It 
was,  at  one  time,  alleged,  that  satisfactory  proof  was  not  alfordcui 
that  France  had  repealed  her  decrees  against  the  commerce  of 
the  United  States,  as  if  such  proof  alone  were  wr.Mting  to  ensure 
the  performance  of  the  liritish  promise.'  At  an(»!l;ir  time  it  was 
insisted  that  the  repeal  of  the  French  decrees  in  duMr  operation 
against  the  United  States,  in  order  to  authorize  a  demand  for  the 
performance  of  the  liritish  promise,  must  be  total,  applying 
equally  to  their  internal  and  tluiir  external  eli'ects;  as  if  the 
United  Slates  had  cither  the  right  or  the  ))owcr  to  impose  upon 
France  the  law  of  her  domestic  institutions.^  And  it  was  finally 
insisted,  in  a  dispatch  from  Lori>  Castlereagh  to  the  llritish 
minister,  residing  at  Washington,  in  the  year  \H12,  which  was 
oilicially  conniiunicated  to  the  American  goverinnent,  'that  the 
decrees  of  Berlin  and  Milan  must  not  be  re[)ealed  singly  and 
specially,  in  relation  to  the  United  States ;  but  must  be  repealed, 
also,  as  to  all  other  neutral  nations ;  and  that  in  no  less  extent  of 
a  repeal  of  the  French  decrees,  had  the  British  government  ever 
pledged  itself  to  repeal  the  orders  in  council ;"  as  if  it  were  incum- 
bent on  the  United  States  not  only  to  assert  her  own  rights,  but 
to  become  the  coadjutor  of  the  British  government,  in  a  gratui- 
tous assertion  of  the  rights  of  all  other  nations. 

"The  Congress  of  the  United  States  could  pause  no  longer. 
Under  a  deep  and  atllicting  sense  of  the  national  wrongs  and  the 
national  resentments,  while  they  '  postponed  definitive  measures 
with  respect  to  France,  in  the  expectation  that  the  result  of  un- 
closed discussions  between  the  American  minister  at  Paris  and 


•  Correspondence  between  Mr.  Piiikney  and  the  British  government. 

2  Letters  of  Mr.  Erskine. 

3  Correspondence  between  the  Secretary  of  Slate,  and  Mr.  Foster,  the  British 
minister,  in  June,  1812. 


r''  I 


CHAP.  I.] 


OF     THE     WAR    OF     1M2. 


41 


the  FnMicli  govonimont,  would  speedily  uiuiblo  tlieni  to  decide, 
widi  greater  advantage,  on  the  course  due  to  the  riglits,  the  in- 
terests, and  the  honour  of  tl>e  country,''  they  pronoiuiced  a  dc- 
hberato  and  solemn  declaration  of  war,  between  (Ireat  JJritain 
and  the  United  States,  on  the  IStii  of  June,  1812. 

"  IJut,  it  is  in  the  lace  of  all  the  facts  which  have  been  displayed 
in  the  present  narrative,  that  the  prince  regent,  by  his  declaration 
of  January,  IS  lU,  describes  the  United  States  us  the  aggressor  in 
tlie  war.  If  the  act  of  declaring  war  constitutes,  in  all  cases,  tlie 
act  of  original  aggression,  the  United  States  must  submit  to  the 
severity  of  the  reproach  ;  but  if  the  act  of  declaring  war  may  be 
more  truly  considered  as  the  result  of  long  sulfering  and  neces- 
sary self-defence,  the  American  government  will  stand  acquitted, 
in  the  sight  of  Heaven,  and  of  the  world.  Have  the  United  States, 
then,  enslaved  the  subjects,  confiscated  the  property,  prostrated 
the  commerce,  insulted  the  Hag,  or  violated  the  territorial  sove- 
reignty of  Great  Britain  ?  No ;  but,  in  all  these  respects  the 
United  States  had  sulfered  for  a  long  period  of  years,  previously 
to  the  declaration  of  war,  the  contumely  and  outrage  of  the  British 
govermnent.  It  has  been  said,  too,  as  an  aggravation  of  the 
imputed  aggression,  that  the  United  Slates  chose  a  period  for 
their  declaration  of  war  when  Great  Britain  was  struggling  for 
her  own  existence,  against  a  power  which  threatened  to  over- 
throw the  independence  of  all  Europe ;  but  it  might  be  more 
truly  said,  that  the  United  States,  not  acting  upon  choice,  but 
u|>on  compvdsion,  delayed  the  declaration  of  war,  until  the  per- 
secutions of  Great  Britain  had  rendered  further  delay  destructive 
and  disgraceful,  (jreat  Britain  had  converted  the  commercial 
scenes  of  American  opulence  and  prosperity  into  scenes  of  com- 
parative poverty  and  distress;  she  had  brought  the  existence  of 
the  United  States,  as  an  independent  nation,  into  question  ;  and, 
surely,  it  must  have  been  indifferent  to  the  United  States,  whether 
they  ceased  to  exist  as  an  independent  nation,  by  her  conduct, 
while  she  professed  friendship,  or  by  her  conduct,  when  she 
avowed  enmity  and  revenge.  Nor  is  it  true  that  the  existence 
of  Great  Britain  was  in  danger  at  the  epoch  of  the  declaration  of 
war.  The  American  government  uniformly  entertained  an  op- 
posite opinion ;  and,  at  all  times,  saw  more  to  apprehend  for  the 

'  President's  message  of  the  1st  of  June,  1812;  and  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee of  foreign  relations,  to  whom  the  message  was  referred. 

/J* 


<V  ;■• 


■•■   'A 


&' 


m 


■j 


4'2 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


[JUNK,  1818. 


1(1 


Mi 


m 


Uiiit.'d  Stales,  from  hor  tiuiriiiinc  powor,  than  from  tliu  territorial 
power  of  her  (uieiny.  The  liveiit  has  jiistilied  the  opinion  and 
tlie  appreiiension.  Ihif  what  (he  United  States  asUi'd, as  e.s.s(>ntial 
to  their  welfares  and  evi-n  as  henehcial  to  tlie  allies  of  (!i(!at 
Uritain,  in  lln^  lOuropoan  war,  (iroat  Britain,  it  is  manifest,  might 
have;  granted,  withont  impairing  tiie  resoin'ci's  of  her  own  strength 
or  tlie  s|)leiid()nr  of  her  own  sovereiu:nly  ;  for,  her  ord(Ms  in  eoun- 
eil  have  heen  since  nu'oked  ;  not,  it  istrne,  as  the  performance 
of  lier  promise,  to  follow,  in  this  respeet,  the  example  of  Franco, 
since  she  fmally  rested  the  obligation  of  that  promise;  npon  a 
repeal  of  the  French  ilecreos,  as  to  all  nations;  and  the  repeal 
was  only  as  to  the  Unit(;d  States;  nor  as  an  act  of  national  jns- 
tice  towards  the  United  States;  hut,  simply,  as  an  act  of  domestic 
jioliey,  for  the  special  advantage  of  her  own  peoph;. 

"The  Ihitish  government  has,  also,  described  the  war  as  a 
war  of  aggrandizement  and  compiest,  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States;  bnt,  where  is  the  foimdation  for  the  charge?  While  the 
American  government  employed  every  means  to  dissnade  the 
Indians, even  those  who  lived  within  the  t»;rritory,and  were  sup- 
[)lied  by  the  bounty  of  the  United  States,  from  taking  any  part  in 
the  war,'  the  proots  were  irresistible,  that  the  enemy  pursued  a 
very  dill'orent  course  f  and  that  every  precaution  would  be  neces- 
sary to  prevent  the  cll'ects  of  an  olfensive  alliance  between  the 
British  troops  and  the  savages,  throughout  the  northern  frontier 
of  the  United  States.  The  military  occupation  of  Upper  Canada 
was,  therelbre,  deemed  indispensabl(!  to  the  safety  of  that  frontier 
in  the  earliest  movements  of  the  war,  independent  of  all  views  of 
extending  the  territorial  boundary  of  the  United  States,  liut, 
when  war  was  declared,  in  reseiUment  for  injuries,  which  had 
been  suifercd  upon  the  Atlantic,  what  principle  of  public  law, 
what  modification  of  civilized  warfare,  imposeil  upon  the  United 
States  the  duty  of  abstaining  from  the  invasion  of  the  Canadas? 
It  was  there  alone  that  the  United  States  could  place  themselves 
upon  an  equal  footing  of  military  force  with  Great  Britain;  atid 
it  was  there,  that  they  might  reasonably  encourage  the  hope  of 
being  able,  in  the  prosecution  of  a  lawful  retaliation,  *to  restrain 

'  Proceedings  at  the  councils,  held  with  the  Indians,  during  the  expedition 
under  Brigadier  General  Hull;  and  the  talk  delivered  by  the  President  of  the 
United  States  to  the  Six  Nations,  at  Washington,  on  the  8ih  of  April,  1813. 

s  Documents  laid  before  Congress  on  the  13ih  of  June,  1812. 


>LI 

dated! 


CIIAI'.  I.] 


OK     TIIK     WAK     OF     IM2. 


43 


the  vi()l(Mic(!  of  the  oiieiny,  and  to  retort  upon  him  [he  evils  ot' 
his  own  injustice.'  The  procliitiiiitioiis  issued  hy  th(!  Aiiu'ricati 
cdiiimaiiders,  on  entering  Upper  (-anada,  have,  howevt^r,  h(?en 
a(l(liic(!(l  hy  the  British  negotiators  at  (rhent,  as  the  proofs  of  a 
spirit  of  amhition  and  aggrarnhzement  on  the  part  of  llu.'ir  govern- 
ment. In  truth,  the  proeinrnations  were  not  only  miantliorizcd 
and  liisapproved,  hut  were  infractions  of  the  positive  inslrnelions 
which  hi., I  heen  given  for  the  conduct  of  the  war  in  Canada. 
When  the  general,  commanding  the  norlh-wistern  army  of  the 
United  Slates,  received,  on  tho  24tli  of  June,  1812,  his  first  au- 
thority to  commence  olfensive  op(>rations,  he  was  especially  told, 
that  'he  must  not  consid(!r  himself  audiori/.ed  to  pledge  the 
governmeiuto  the  inhabitants  of  ('anada,  further  than  assurances 
of  protection  in  their  persons,  prop<n-ty,  and  rights.'  And  on  the 
ensuing  1st  of  August,  it  was  empiiatically  declared  to  him.  'that 
it  had  becon.'  necessary  that  he  should  not  lose  sight  of  the  in- 
structions o.  the  2  Ith  of  June,  as  any  pledge  beyond  that  was 
incompatible  witli  the  views  of  the  government."  Such  was  the 
nature  of  tiie  charge  of  American  ambition  and  aggrandizement, 
and  such  tlic  evidence  to  support  it." 

<'The  conduct  of  the  United  States,  from  the  moment  of  de- 
claring the  war,  will  serve,  as  well  as  their  previous  conduct, 
to  rescue  hem  from  the  unjust  reproaches  of  Great  Britain. 
When  war  was  declared,  the  orders  in  council  had  been  main- 
tained, with  inexorable  hostility,  until  a  thousand  American  ves- 
sels and  their  cargoes  had  been  seized  and  conliscated,  under 
their  operation;  tlu;  Hritish  tuinister  at  Washington  had,  with 
peculiar  solemnity,  amiounccd  that  the  orders  would  not  be  re- 
pealed, but  upon  conditions,  which  tho  American  government 
had  not  the  right,  nor  the  power,  to  fulfil ;  and  the  European 
war,  wliifMi  had  raged  with  little  intermission  for  twenty  years, 
threatened  an  indefinite  continuance.  Under  these  circumstances, 
a  repeal  of  the  orders,  and  a  cessation  of  the  injuries  which  they 
jiroduced,  were  events  beyond  all  rational  anticipation.  It  ap- 
pears, however,  that  the  orders,  under  the  influence  of  a  parlia- 
mentary inquiry  into  their  eft'ects  upon  the  trade  and  manufac- 
tures of  Great  Britain,  were  provisionally  repealed  on  the  23d  of 
June,  1812,31  f*^w  days  subsequent  to  the  American  declaration 

'  Letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  War  Department  to  Brigadier  General  Hull, 
dated  the  24th  of  June,  and  the  1st  of  August,  1812. 


f  :  '<■•,. iif 


•i' 


•I-' 


I'l 


li! 


:H 


HI 


^ir 


l|::-: 


ir.i 


>ii 


44 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


[JUNE,  1812. 


of  war.  If  this  repeal  liacl  been  made  known  to  the  United 
States,  before  their  resort  to  arms,  the  repeal  would  have  arrested 
it;  and  that  cause  of  war  being  removed,  the  other  essential 
cause,  the  practice  of  impressment,  would  have  been  the  subject 
of  renewed  negotiation,  under  the  auspicious  influence  of  a  par- 
tial, yet  important,  act  of  reconciliation.  But  the  declaration  of 
war,  having  announced  the  practice  of  impressment,  as  a  princi- 
pal cause,  peace  could  only  be  the  result  of  an  express  abando  • 
ment  of  the  practice ;  of  a  suspension  of  the  practice,  for  the 
purposes  of  negotiation;  or  of  a  cessation  of  actual  sutferance, 
in  consequence  of  a  pacification  hi  Europe,  which  would  deprive 
Great  Britain  of  every  motive  for  continuing  the  practice." 

"  The  reluctance  with  which  the  United  States  had  resorted  to 
arms,  was  manifested  by  the  steps  taken  to  arrest  the  progress 
of  hostilities,  and  to  hasten  a  restoration  of  peace.  On  the  26th 
of  June,  1812,  the  American  charge  d'affaires,  at  London,  was 
instructed  to  make  the  proposal  of  an  armistice  to  the  British 
government,  which  might  lead  to  an  adjustment  of  all  ditfer- 
ences,  on  the  single  condition,  in  the  event  of  the  orders  in  coun- 
cil being  repealed,  that  instructions  should  be  issued,  suspending 
the  practice  of  impressment  during  the  armistice.  This  proposal 
was  soon  followed  by  another,  admitting,  instead  of  positive  in- 
structions, an  informal  understanding  between  the  two  govern- 
ments on  the  subject.'  But  both  of  these  proposals  were  unhap- 
pily rejected.^  And  when  a  third,  which  seemed  to  leave  no 
plea  for  hesitation,  as  it  required  no  other  preliminary  than  that 
the  American  minister,  at  Londnn,  should  find  in  the  British 
government  a  sincere  disposition  to  accommodate  the  ditference 
relative  to  impressment,  on  fair  conditions,  was  evaded,  it  was 
obvious  that  neither  a  desire  of  peace  nor  a  spirit  of  conciliation 
influenced  the  councils  of  Great  Britain. 

"Under  these  circumstances,  the  American  government  had 
no  choice,  but  to  invigorate  the  war ;  and  yet  it  lias  never  lost 
sight  of  the  object  of  all  just  wars,  a  just  peace.  The  Emperor  of 
Russia  having  offered  his  mediation  to  accomplish  that  object,  it 

'  Letters  from  the  Secretary  of  State  to  Mr.  Russell,  dated  the  26th  of  June, 
and  27th  of  July,  1812. 

2  Correspondence  between  Mr.  Russell  and  Lord  Castlereagh,  dated  August 
and  September,  1812;  and  Mr.  Russell's  letters  to  the  Secretary  of  State,  dated 
September,  1812. 


vil 


CHAP.  I.] 


OF    THE     WAR    OF     1812. 


45 


I 


was  instantly  and  cordially  accepted  by  tlio  American  govern- 
ment;' but  it  was  pereiripiorily  rejected  by  the  IJritisli  govern- 
ment. The  emperor,  in  his  benevolence,  repeated  his  invitation  : 
the  lirilisli  government  again  rejected  it.  At  last,  however,  Great 
Jiritain,  sensible  of  tlie  reproach  to  which  sucii  conduct  would 
expose  iier  tliroughout  Europe,  offered  to  the  American  govern- 
ment a  direct  negotiation  for  |)eace,  and  the  ofler  was  promptly 
embraced,  with  perfect  confidence  tiiat  the  British  government 
would  be  equally  prompt  in  giving  effect  to  its  own  proposal. 
Hut  such  was  not  the  design  or  the  course  of  tliat  government. 
The  American  envoys  were  immediately  appointed,  and  arrived 
at  Gottenburgh,  the  destined  scene  of  negotiation,  on  the  11th  of 
April,  1S14,  as  soon  as  the  season  admitted.  The  British  govern- 
ment, though  regularly  informed  that  no  time  vonld  be  lost  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States,  suspended  the  appointment  of  its 
envoys  until  the  actual  arrival  of  the  American  envoys  should  be 
formally  communicated.  This  pretension,  however  novel  and 
inauspicious,  was  not  permitted  to  oi)struct  the  path  to  peace. 
Tlie  British  govcrimicnt  next  proposed  to  transfer  the  negotiation 
from  Gottenburgh  to  Ghent.  Tliis  change,  also,  notwitl  standing 
the  necessary  delay,  was  allowed.  The  American  envoys,  ar- 
riving at  Ghent  on  the  24th  of  Juno,  remained  in  a  mortifying 
state  of  suspense  and  expectation  for  the  arrival  of  the  Britisii 
envoys  until  the  Gth  of  August.  And  from  the  period  of  opening 
the  negotiations  to  the  date  of  the  last  dispatch  of  the  31st  of 
October,  it  lias  been  seen  that  the  whole  of  the  diplomatic  skill 
of  the  British  government  has  consisted  in  consuming  time,  with- 
out approaching  any  conclusion.  The  pacification  of  Paris  had, 
suddenly  and  unexpectedly,  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  British 
government  a  great  naval  and  military  force ;  the  pride  and  pas- 
sions of  the  nation  were  artfully  excited  against  the  United  States, 
and  a  war  of  desperate  and  barbarous  character  was  planned,  at 
the  very  moment  that  the  American  government,  finding  its 
maritime  citizens  relieved,  by  the  course  of  events,  from  actual 
sufferance  under  the  practice  of  impressment,  liad  authorized  its 
envoys  to  waive  those  stipulations  upon  the  subject,  which  might, 
otherwise,  have  been  indispensable  precautions." 

Little  need  or  can  be  added  to  Dallas'  authentic  and  persuasive 
view  of  the  justice  of  the  war.     It  is  of  great  importance  to 

'  Correspondence  between  Mr.  Monroe  and  Mr.  Daschkoff,  in  March,  1813. 


..j:hv.'' 


■"•:i  !h' 


<!•  .•■■ , 


■'?-:^v' 


i.' 


■'.'   ( 


%:■ 


^ 


f  1i 

1;  :    ■■ 

■'     ! 

■.       '    ' 

'^m 


41-' 


46 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


[Jl'NE,  1812. 


Mil 


imbiie  the  American  nation,  and  impress  others,  with  just  ideas 
of  the  course  vindicated  in  arms  by  a  comparatively  weak 
American  against  the  most  powerful  European  nation;  and  to 
convince  ail  tliat  they  were  not  resorted  to  till  expostulation 
and  forbearance  were  exhausted.  Stung,  outraged,  and  roused 
to  conllict  by  uninterrupted  series  of  insufferable  wrongs  and 
contumelious  defiance,  the  pride  and  fortitude  of  a  patient  people 
were  provoked  and  confirmed.  Many  think  that  Great  Hritaiu 
always  hankered  after  the  recolonization  of  the  United  States. 
Not  content  with  its  commercial  accomplisiiment,  by  whicii  tliis 
country  free  is  more  profitable  to  that  tiian  it  could  be  as  colonies, 
the  mother  country,  by  various  insidious  devices,  as  some  be- 
lieve, was  contriving  to  resume  at  least  metropolitan  supremacy. 
Ueteiition  of  the  frontier  posts  long  alter  the  peace  of  17S3,  in 
flaL'rant  violation  of  the  treaty,  and  contempt  of  remonstrance  by 
Washington,  may  have  been  with  the  design  to  confine  the 
American  States  to  the  east  side  of  tlie  Ohio  river.  While  the 
savages  on  the  west  were  carefully  kept  in  British  subjection, 
Indian  sales  of  lands  to  the  American  government  or  settlers 
might  be  easily  invalidated  by  reason  of  their  roving  ownership 
giving  no  title  by  occupancy  or  cultivation  ;  and  thus  the  whole 
western  wilds  retained  by  or  for  the  English.  On  tiie  maritime 
side  England  had  complete  mastery  by  sea.  With  both  flanks 
so  controlled,  tlie  States  deprived  of  lands  beyond  the  Ohio,  and 
trade  upon  the  ocean,  environed  by  British  fortifications  on  ail 
sides,  and  overwhelmed  by  British  sway,  would  perhaps  seek 
again  British  protection.  Tiie  attempt  at  Chent  to  negotiate 
Indian  sovereignty  within  the  States,  looks  like  furtiierance  of 
the  original  intent.  The  attack  of  New  Orhans,  the  key  of  the 
West,  in  the  midst  of  the  negotiations  at  Ghent,  the  legality  tf 
the  American  acquisition  of  Louisiana  from  France  being  denied 
in  the  English  manifesto  when  attacking  New  Orleans,  with  open 
ommuiiication  to  sea, and  indisp'.itable  command  of  all  the  rivers, 
lakes,  and  bays  of  the  south-west,  conirolling  the  whole  valley 
of  the  Mississi[>pi,  viewed  in  connection  with  prior  designs  upon 
the  United  States  through  northern  divisions,  all  combine  to 
infer  that  before  and  during  the  war,  and  until  the  peace  of  1815, 
England  liad  not  relinquished  hopes  of  extensive  control  over 
large  parts  of  this  country.  Its  growth  in  population,  resources, 
national  power  and  national  pride  since  the  peace  of  1815  would 


pill". 

■*'l''-  ■-:  L.'- 


CHAP.  I.] 


OF    THE     WAR    OF     1S12. 


47 


'I 

1 


\ 


■i 


-■', 


■ 


not  allow  now  endurance  for  a  monaent  of  any  one  of  the  many 
acts  of  injustice  then  borne  for  several  years.  A  swamp  in  Oregon, 
a  port  in  California,  a  point  of  honour,  rnay  now  produce  a  war, 
which  till  both  nations  ascertained  that  the  United  States  both  can 
and  will  declare  and  prosecute  it  if  necessary,  was  altogether  dis- 
credited hy  the  English,  discouraged  and  dreaded  by  many  of 
the  most  respectable  and  intelligent  Americans. 

Opposition  to  it  comprehended  most  of  the  merchants  for 
whose  relief  and  at  whose  instance  it  was  made,  their  dependents, 
the  lawyers  of  the  seaports,  the  traders  and  mechanics  connected 
with  navigation.  Jefferson's  restrictive  system,  embargo,  non- 
imp<Mlation.  non-intercourse,  fell  with  severe  force  on  Eastern 
navigating  interests,  and  soured  that  intolerant  population.  Their 
clergy,  the  champions  of  war  against  England  in  1775,  were 
bitter  and  uncompromising  opponents  of  it  in  1812.  Party, 
the  police  of  republics,  and  protection  of  minorities  from  the 
oppression  and  proscription  of  majorities,  in  this  country,  if  not 
others,  involves  the  church  in  excesses,  which,  like  all  extremes, 
however  to  be  deprecated,  cannot  be  avoided,  and,  if  moderated, 
should  not  be  stifled.  That  venerable  patriarch  of  Eastern  fede- 
ralism, John  Adams,  as  soon  as  war  was  declared,  rebuked  oppo- 
sition to  it  by  persons  in  authority,  as  he  said,  ecclesiastical  and 
civil,  and  political  and  military, denouncing  it  as  unjust,  unneces- 
sary and  unexpected.  "  It  is  utterly  incomprehensible  to  me," 
said  Mr.  Adams, "  that  a  rational,  a  social  or  a  moral  creature 
can  say  the  war  is  unjust ;  how  it  can  be  said  to  be  unnecessary 
is  very  mysterious.  I  have  thought  it  both  just  and  necessary 
lor  live  or  six  years. 

"How  can  it  be  said  to  be  unexpected  is  another  wonder.  I 
have  expected  it  more  than  five  and  twenty  years,  and  have  had 
great  reason  to  be  thankful  tliat  it  has  been  postponed  so  long,  i 
saw  such  a  spirit  in  the  British  Islands,  when  I  resided  in  France, 
in  Holland,  and  in  England  itself,  that  I  expected  another  war 
much  sooner  than  it  has  happened.  I  was  so  impressed  with  the 
idea,  that  I  expressed  to  Lord  Lansdowne  (formerly  Lord  Shel- 
burne)  an  apprehension  that  his  lordship  would  live  long  enough 
to  be  obliged  to  make,  and  that  I  should  live  long  enough  to 
see,  another  peace  made  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  of  America.  His  lordship  d'd  not  live  long  enough  to 
make  the  peace,  and  I  sliall  not  p  obably  live  to  see  it ;  but  I 


.    .i; 


'ij;m 


■•v; 


:,%, 


MM 


,'.>i''  ?.  "■■| 


48 


HISTORICAL     SKKTCII 


[JUNR,  1812. 


'  '"II 


¥■! 


liave  lived  to  sec  the  war  lluit  must  bo  ibllowed  l)y  a  peace,  if 
the  war  is  not  eternal." 

The  East,  commercial  and  navigating,  (or  whoso  vindication 
the  war  was  undertaken,  opposed  it:  Massachusetts,  tlien  includ- 
nig  Maine,  New  Ilanipsliire,  Kliode  Island  and  Connecticut,  with 
a  lar;j:e  part  of  New  York,  and  the  majority  of  ^v\v  Jersey. 
The  West  and  South,  will:  nothing  but  principk^s  to  fight  for, 
together  with  the  large  Central  States,  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania, 
supported  it.  Vermont,  a  frontier  state,  was  the  only  one  of 
New  England  for  tin;  war.  As  the  most  violent  and  inlluential 
moral  resistance  to  il  came  from  the  Eastern  clergy,  a  view  of  that, 
curious  ollspring  of  freedom,  the  American  church,  is  one  of  [\w 
first  points  ibr  philosophical  attention.  Not  the  Church  of  ICngland 
or  of  Rome,  the  Presbyterian,  Methodist,  Baptist,  or  any  other 
particular  sect  of  Christian  worship,  but  the  whole,  in  all  their 
many  varieties  and  modifications,  as  developed  by  American  insti- 
tutions and  influences,  and  combined  in  what  may  be  denominated 
the  American  church,  or  the  voluntary  religion  of  the  United 
States.  The  political  influences  of  this  church  are  felt  every  day 
throughout  this  country;  its  action  upon  the  war  of  1812  is 
among  the  most  striking  and  memorable  of  its  circumstances. 

European  misconception  or  tiiisrepresentation  disparages  Ame- 
rican religion,  as  Ibrnierly  they  did  men  and  animals,  and  L-till  do 
government  and  society,  l^iberty  is  always  accused  by  hierar- 
chies of  infidelity  and  innnorality:  want  of  ecclesiastical  rectitude 
being  inferred  from  want  of  political  power.  Such  was  the  Pagan 
and  is  the  Mahometan  dogr>a ;  and  un.d  exploded  by  American 
devotion,  it  was  a  Christian  doctrine.  Similar  contempt  of  arbi- 
trary for  self-government  maligns  republicanism;  to  which  dispa- 
ragements of  the  religion  and  politics  of  America  the  Old  World 
superadds  that  of  American  descent  said  to  be  bastardized  by 
ancestral  crime.  Yet  the  origin  of  the  United  States  of  America 
was  more  ideal,  identical,  primordial  and  pious  than  that  of  any 
European  nation.  Emigrants  from  various  covmiries  sought 
America  from  sympathetic  motives,  and  even  their  colonial  settle- 
ments were  not  merely  accidental  or  their  governments  convul- 
sive, as  most  other  nations  have  originated,  but  were  of  one  mind. 
Political  and  religious  freedom  was  their  pci  ^ading  impulse, 
Jesuits,  Puritans,  Quakers,  Huguenots,  Calvinists,  they  were  all 
missionaries,  and  many  of  them  martyrs,  fugitives  for  conscience, 


I 


i 


■i 


pioj 

stiti 

stiti 

thos 

the 

chu 

the 

see 

of  a 

plaii 

logii 

scru 


CHAP.  I.] 


OF    THE    WAR    OV     1812. 


49 


not  crime.  Bringing  the  free  thoughts  just  beginning  in  Europe, 
the  Hihle  was  the  code  of  many,  Christianity  the  common  law  of 
all:  when  French  and  Englisii  colonists  were  led  to  war  against 
each  other,  their  religious  and  political  predilections  continued  still 
the  same,  notwithstanding  hostilities. 

Less  mixed  than  the  many-peopled  origin  of  most  old  nations, 
American  extemporized  beginning  was  less  accidental,  national 
fusion  more  complete,  lineage  more  homogeneous.  Similarity 
of  language,  much  more  perfect  throughout  all  the  United  States 
of  America  than  in  any  other  nation,  is  not  a  more  effectual 
amalgamation  than  unity  of  religious  and  political  sympathy. 
The  populace  of  Europe  are  beneath  American  comparison.  The 
most  exclusive  nobility,  with  often  fabricated  pedigrees,  rarely 
pretend  to  date  beyond  American  settlement.  The  boasted  blue 
blood  of  aristocracy  marks  no  national  identity  or  individual 
character  beyond  the  plebeian  articulation  of  Amcica:  upstart, 
but  by  one  impulse  of  self-goverimient,  from  first  lo  last  in  un- 
broken trad  it 'on.  From  embryo  to  adult  there  has  been  no 
change  since  creation.  Religion  and  politics  liave  been  peculiar, 
constant  and  national.  Instinct  with  devotional  and  polemical 
fervour  American  religion  passed  through  the  successive  stages 
from  ecclesiastical  domination  to  toleration,  and  from  that  to 
divorce  of  church  and  state,  till  the  dominion  of  religious  liberty 
has  become  more  potent  than  that  of  absolute  hierarchy,  and  reli- 
gion seems  destined  to  greater  supremacy  than  where  church  and 
state  are  united.  Political  independence  and  union  were  medi- 
tated by  the  American  colonies  two-thirds  of  a  century  before 
they  were  declared  and  established.  Voluntary  religion,  always 
progressive  with  civil  liberty,  was  in  the  grain  of  American  in- 
stitutions before  its  incorporation  with  uie  federal  and  state  con- 
stitutions of  the  United  States.  All  these  constitutions,  unlike 
those  of  old,  were  long  premeditated.  Religious  freedom  preceded 
the  Revolution.  The  Church  of  England  was  the  estal  .ished 
church,  but  tithes  and  glebes  were  hardly  known.  While  nearly 
the  whole  of  a  vast  scarcely  inhabited  country  was  part  of  the 
see  of  London,  church  democracy  was  working  its  independence 
of  all  the  old  jurisdictions.  In  that  respect  so  little  cause  of  com- 
plaint existed  that  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  in  its  cata- 
logue of  grievances,  mentions  no  religious  abuse.  No  Unitarian 
scruple  prevented  Franklin  and  Adams  from  signing  the  defiiii- 

VOL.  I. — 5 


■^::^^^ 


■  J^jil 


.r>- 


■' .!' 


« 


50 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


[JUNK,  1812. 


■  *■  ■ 

I 


1 


live  treaty  of  peace  with  Great  liritain,  in  the  name  of  the  most 
lioly  ar.d  undivided  Trinity,  nor  di'i  repnsriuincc  to  slavery  forbid 
Jay,  together  with  Iheni,  siibscri!)ing  the  Enghsh  stipulation  that 
negroes  are  properly.  The  Articles  of  Confederation  bound  the 
states  to  assist  eacli  other  against  all  attacks  upon  any  of  them 
on  account  of  religion.  13ut  the  last  line  of  the  federal  constitu- 
tion merely  declares  that  no  religious  test  shall  ever  be  re(|uired  as 
a  qualification  for  a>iy  olFice  or  public  trust ;  to  which  sparing  salvo 
the  first  amendment  adds,  that  Congress  shall  make  no  law  re- 
specting the  establishment  of  religion,  or  prohibiting  the  free 
exercise  thereof.  The  state  constitutions,  more  appropriate  re- 
positories of  such  provisions,  abounU  with  interdicts  of  all  con- 
nection between  church  and  state  and  protections  fo-  the  rights 
of  conscience. 

Christianity  is  claimed  throughout  the  United  States  ;^..  the 
religion  of  self-government,  the  appropriate  faith  of  republican- 
ism. Spontaneity  produces  ecclesiastical  establishments  of  all 
kinds,  and  pastoral  influences  at  least  as  numerous  and  effec- 
tual as  wherever  religion  is  part  of  politics.  Toleration  is  an 
American  reality;  mere  sufferance  is  unknown.  States,  society, 
seminaries  of  education,  families  experience  no  annoyance  from 
variety  of  creeds.  Most  of  the  education  proceeds  from  cler- 
gymen :  and  with  equal  acceptance  whether  the  teacher  be  a 
Presbyterian,  a  Jesuit,  or  a  Quaker.  The  teacher's  merit  is  that 
he  is  qualified  to  teach,  not  that  he  is  of  any  particular  creed. 
The  extensive  school  system,  begun  in  New  England  and  ex- 
tending everywhere,  fortifies  clerical  authority  by  uniting  tiie 
power  of  kno\ /•ledge  to  the  strongest  of  feelings.  Religious 
principle,  thus  strengthened  by  toleration,  political  separation  of 
church  from  s  ate,  has  had  the  further  unlooked-for  result  of 
aggrandizing  the  church  by  irresistible  influence,  beyond  that  of 
political  goverr  ment.  So  intense  is  religious  feeling  that  political 
rights  are  even  rejected  by  some  because  Christianity  is  not  ac- 
knowledged by  'he  constitution.  It  is  inseparably  connected  with 
the  whole  frame  v<f  society.  American  sep  ration  of  church  from 
state  binds  them  more  closely  than  ever.  Religion  is  the  essence 
of  governing,  though  government  be  dissevered  from  it.  Its 
American  authority  exceeds  that  of  American  political  govern- 
ment. As  government  forbears,  religion  interposes  and  becomes 
the  cement  of  the  community.     Divorcing  church  from  state, 


ba 
ha 


CHAP.  I.] 


OF    THE     WAR    OF     1812. 


51 


i 


wliil(!  it  iiimils  compulsive  ob"ilinucc  and  support,  substitutes  the 
stioiiijcr  lio  ol'  voluntary  attaclMiictit,  often  enthusiastic.  It  is 
only  notjcssTiy  to  observe  how  thr;  Sabbath  day  is  kept  holy 
tliroucrhout  tlie  Fnitod  States,  to  be  sensible  of  the  extensive, 
nearly  universal  prcdoininrnce  of  church  (hscipline.  Free  religion 
has  raised  up  a  predominant  church,  of  all  creeds,  wiiicli  rivals, 
if  it  d(K>s  not  r.'gulate,  the  commonwealth.  The  American  church 
is  as  wt'll  if  not  better  organized  than  the  state.  It  has  its  polity, 
its  ollic(!rs,  its  constitutMicy,  its  numerous  sects  p.nd  controversies, 
but  all  tiiovinii:  together  for  religious  supremacy.  It  is  a  dynasty 
of  mort!  unity,  perhnps  pc^rjxjiuity,  than  the  state.  Religious 
assoriatioiis,  charitable  and  iMMu^licial  institutions,  combine  masses 
of  intelligence,  wealth,  Z(;al,  all  the  elements  of  union,  activity  and 
control.  While  young  (Icmocracy  was  gradually  growing  up,  an 
iiidepcMiiK'nt  church,  like  an  Independent  currency,  at  the  same 
(inu!  started  forward,  and  tlu;  two  latter  have  become  able,  either 
one.  to  regi.ilate  tiie  former.  I^ach  has  its  free  press,  its  intellec- 
tual ;ind  lu('rativ(^  support,  its  numerous  and  devoted  followers. 
The  church  has  more  seminaries  of  learning  than  the  state,  more 
constaiit,  ardent  and  able  advocates:  its  olfices  are  mostly  filled 
by  educated  men  ;  there  is  no  rotation  in  ollicc  among  them;  the 
incumbent  is  always  so  by  life  tenure;  if  he  behaves  well,  from 
eighteen  to  eighty  years  of  age  his  services,  infhiencc,  and  main- 
tenance do  hut  increase.  Ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  is  universal, 
active  and  uncontradicted,  while  that  of  the  state  is  limited,  for- 
bearing, timid  and  often  frustrated.  The  stale  does  not  interfere 
with  the  church :  while  the  church  is  continually  regulating  the 
state.  Religion  in  the  United  States  is  a  vocation  more  attractive, 
absorbing  and  profitable  than  politics.  The  pecuniary  contribu- 
tions in  every  way  to  ecclesiastical  and  its  atfiliated  objects  in 
the  United  States  exceed  many  millions  of  dollars  a  year;  pro- 
bably as  much  as  an  established  state  church  would  cost,  per- 
haps as  much  as  the  federal  government.  Church  missionary 
establishments,  both  foreign  and  domestic,  are  more  extensive 
and  exjiensive  than  any  similar  relations  maintained  by  the 
ledcral  government.  Ilible  societies,  temperance,  abolition  of 
slavery,  and  various  other  combinations,  open,  ardent,  opulent, 
numerous,  arc  constantly  in  energetic  action.  Tiiey  rival,  check, 
and  control  political  government.     Without  further  explanation 


v  . 


m 


'-^M 


m 


>.\  \ 


52 


HISTORICAL     SIvKTCM 


[JUNK,  1812. 


hi 

If 


of  this  intcrestin;^  topic  than  is  proper  in  connection  with  the 
suhject  in  iiiind,  enongh  lias  been  said  to  show,  as  a  fact,  that 
clerical  power  always  strong  and  strengthening,  was  accnsiomed 
to  display  itself  especially  in  New  Kngland.  There  its  ascend- 
ency was  marked  by  litful  acts  of  signal  intolerance.  Probably 
as  many  were  tortured  and  executed,  in  proportion  to  population, 
for  imputed  and  absurd  heresies  there,  as  sud'ered,  in  the  same 
period  of  time,  by  the  executioner  anywhere.  'I'he  gallows  had 
victims  as  numerous  and  unon'ending,  in  that  proportion,  as  the 
flames  of  inquisition  or  the  guillotine  of  Jacobinism.  Twenty 
put  to  death  for  witchcraft  in  the  neighbourhood  whence  the  most 
violent  sermons  were  fulminated  against  tln^  war  of  1812.  sixt 
tortured  or  terrified  into  false  confessions,  jails  lilU'd  with  accused 
by  the  bigotry  of  one  age,  were  the  natural  predestination  of  the 
intolerance  of  another.  Nor  was  it  only  clerical  outrage.  A  law 
of  New  York  that  all  Popish  priests  coming  voluntarily  into  that 
state  should  be  hanged,  was  as  deadly  a  blow  as  any  dealt  by 
the  most  bigoted  monarcli.  The  clergy  of  New  England,  who 
look  au  active  and  efficient  part  tor  the  war  of  the  Revolution, 
cast  the  sword  of  their  fiery  opposition  into  the  scale  against  the 
second  war  with  England,  which  most  of  the  slate  legislatures, 
the  lawyers,  merchants,  and  wealthy  people  of  that  region  at 
first  promoted  and  then  opposed.  When  declared,  eastern  pulpits 
resounded  with  its  curses.  "  It  was  a  war  unexampled  in  his- 
tory, proclaimed  on  the  most  Irivolous  and  groundless  pretences," 
preached  one  ;  "let  no  consideration  whatever  deter  my  brethren, 
at  all  times  and  in  all  places,  from  execrating  the  present  war. 
Mr.  Madison  has  declared  it,  let  Mr.  Madison  carry  it  on.  Tlie 
Union  has  been  long  since  virtually  dissolved,  and  it  is  iiigh  time 
that  this  part  of  the  disunited  states  should  take  can  of  itself." 
"  The  strong  prepossessions  of  so  great  a  proportion  of  his  ibllow- 
(Utizens  in  favour  of  a  race  of  demons,  (French,)  and  against  a 
)iation  of  more  religion,  virtue,  good  faith,  generosity  and  benefi- 
cence than  any  that  now  is,  or  ever  before  has  been,  on  the  face  of 
the  earth,"  ( British, )  sighed  another  of  these  reverend  pastors  to 
his  congregation,  "  wring  my  soul  with  anguish,  and  fill  my 
heart  with  apprehension  and  terror  of  the  judgments  of  Heaven 
upon  th's  sinful  people.  If  at  the  command  of  weak  or  wicked 
rulers  they  undertake  an  unjust  war,  each  man  who  volunteers 


1 
I 


bd 

w 

re 

tH 

isl 


CHAP.  I.] 


OF    THR     WAR    OF     1812. 


63 


his  services  in  siicli  a  ciuis«,or  loans  his  money  for  its  support,  or 
by  his  convcrs  ..^n,  his  writings,  or  any  other  mode  of  inlhience 
enconrages  its  prosccntion,that  man  is  an  accomplice  in  the  wick- 
edness— loads  his  conscience  with  the  blackest  crimes — brings  the 
guilt  of  blood  upon  his  soul,  and  in  the  sight  of  God  and  his  law 
is  a  murderer. 

*'  Since  the  period  of  the  pretended  repeal  of  the  French  de- 
crees, scores  if  not  hundreds  of  our  vessels  hovo  been  seized  in 
French  ports  or  bur^it  at  sea  by  Frencli  cruizers;  while  many  of 
their  unollending  crews  were  manacled  like  slaves,  confined  in 
French  prisons,  or  forced  on  board  French  ships  to  fight  against 
England. 

"Our  govornmcnt,  with  a  hardihood  and  effrontery  at  which 
de.nons  might  have  blushed,  persisted  in  asserting  the  repeal. 

"  My  mind  has  been  in  a  constant  agony,  not  so  much  at  the 
inevitable  loss  of  our  temporal  prosperity  and  happiness,  and  the 
complicated  miseries  of  war,  as  at  its  guilt,  its  outrage  against 
Heaven  ;  against  all  truth,  honesty,  justice,  goodness — against  all 
the  principles  of  social  happiness. 

"  Were  not  the  authors  of  this  war  nearly  akin  to  the  deists  and 
atheists  of  France ;  were  they  not  men  of  hardened  hearts,  seared 
consciences,  reprobate  minds,  and  desperate  wickedness;  it  seems 
utterly  inconceivable  that  they  should  have  made  the  declaration. 
One  hope  only  remains,  tluit  this  stroke  of  perfidy  may  open  the 
eyes  of  a  besotted  peopl(> ;  that  they  may  awake  like  a  giant  from 
his  slumbers,  and  wrciik  their  vengeance  on  their  betrayers,  by 
driving  tliein  from  their  stations  and  placing  at  the  helm  more 
skilful  and  t'aithful  hands. 

"  If  at  the  present  moment  no  symptoms  of  civil  war  appear, 
they  certainly  will  soon,  unless  the  courage  of  tlie  war  party 
should  fail  them. 

"  A  civil  war  becomes  as  certain  as  the  events  that  happen  ac- 
cording to  the  known  laws  and  established  course  of  nature. 

"The  Israelites  becansc  weary  of  yielding  the  fruit  of  their  la- 
bour to  pamper  their  splendid  tyrants.  They  left  their  political 
woes.  They  separated.  Where  is  our  Mc  ?  Where  is  the 
rod  of  his  miracles  ?  Where  is  our  Aaron  ?  Alas,  no  voice  from 
the  burning  bush  has  directed  them  liere.  There  is  a  point,  there 
is  an  hour  beyond  wliich  you  will  not  bear. 


•>:,v€t^l 


■.v.r.Aj,; 


.'■•  ...  sf; 


54 


HISTORICAL     SKKTCH 


[JUNE,  1812. 


"  Such  is  tlio  temper  of  American  republiconism,  so  called.  A 
new  language  must  be  invented  bef'ori'  v.c  atteni[)l  to  express  the 
baseness  oftbeir  conduct,  or  describe  the  rottenness  of  their  hearts. 

"  New  England,  it'  invaded,  would  be  obliged  to  delend  herself. 
Do  you  not  then  owe  it  to  your  children,  and  owe  it  to  your  (lod 
to  make  peace,  for  yourselves. 

"  You  may  as  well  expect  the  cataract  of  Niagara  to  turn  its 
head  to  Luko  Su[)erior,  as  a  wicked  Congress  to  make  ix  pause  in 
tlic  work  of  destroying  their  country,  while  the  people  will  fur- 
nish the  means. 

"  Alas !  we  have  no  Moses  to  stretch  his  rod  over  tlie  sea  !  No 
Lebanon,  nor  Carmel,nor  Zion  invites  us  across  the  deep. 

"The  republics  of  Rome  and  Venice,  and  perhaps  another  which 
alone  exists,  have  been  as '.()(. ressive  as  the  despotism  oi'  Turkey, 
of  Persia  or  Japan. 

"  Should  the  English  now  be  at  liberty  to  send  all  their  armies 
and  all  their  ships  to  America,  and,  in  one  day,  burn  every  city 
from  Maine  to  Georgia,  your  condescending  rulers  would  play  on 
their  harps,  while  they  gazed  at  the  tremendous  conllagration. 

"Tyrants  are  the  same  on  the  banks  of  tlie  Nile  and  the  Poto- 
mac ;  at  Memphis  and  at  Washington,  in  a  monarchy  and  a  re- 
public. 

"  Like  the  worshipers  of  Moloch,  tlie  snpporfcrs  of  a  vile  ad- 
ministration sacrifice  their  children  and  families  on  the  altar  of 
democracy.  Like  the  widows  of  Hindostan,  they  consume  them- 
sei"3s.  Like  the  frantic  votaries  of  Juggernaut,  they  throw  them- 
selves under  the  car  of  their  political  idol.  They  ari^  crushed  by 
its  bloody  wheels. 

"The  full  vials  of  despotism  are  poincd  on  your  heads.  And 
yet  you  may  challenge  the  plodding  IsraiMite,  the  stupid  African, 
the  feeble  Chinese,  the  drowsy  Turk,  or  the  frozen  exile  ol' Sibe- 
ria, to  equal  you  in  tame  submission  to  the  powers  that  be. 

"  Here  we  must  trample  on  the  mandates  of  despotism,  or  here 
we  must  remain  slaves  forever. 

«  You  may  envy  the  privilege  of  Israel,  and  wonder  that  no 
land  of  Canaan  has  been  promised  to  your  ancestors.  You  can 
not  separate  from  that  mass  of  corruption,  which  would  poison 
the  Pimosphere  of  Paradise.  You  must  in  obstinate  despair  bow 
down  your  necks  to  the  yoke  and  with  your  African  brethren 


by 


I 


CHAP.  1.) 


OF     TIIK     WAR    OF     1812. 


0!) 


drag  the  cluiiiis  of  Virginia  despotism,  unless  you  discover  some 
other  mode  ol"  escape. 

"  lias  not  New  Kii'  hind  as  much  to  apprehend  as  the  sons  oC 
Jacob  liad  ?  but  no  ch.ld  had  been  taken  from  the  river  to  lead  us 
through  the  sea. 

"  If  judgments  arc  coming  on  the  nation,  if  the  sea  does  not  open 
tliec  a  path,  w  lie  re,  how,  in  what  manner  will  you  serk  relief? 

"God  will  bring  good  from  every  evil  :  the  lurnaees  of  KgypI 
lighted  Israel  to  the  land  of  Canaan. 

"What  sooty  slave,  in  all  the  ancient  dominions,  more  obsequi- 
ously watched  the  eye  of  his  master  and  Hew  to  the  indulgences 
of  his  desires  more  servilely  than  those  same  masters  have  waited 
and  watched  and  obeyed  the  orders  of  \\w  great  Napoleon  :' 

"  Let  every  man  who  sanctions  this  war  by  his  sulfrage  or  inllu- 
eiice,  remember  that  he  is  labouring  to  cover  hiin.self  and  his  coun- 
try with  blood.  The  blood  of  the  slain  will  cry  from  the  ground 
against  him. 

"  How  will  the  supporters  of  this  anti-christian  warfare  endure 
their  sentence— endure  their  own  reflections — endure  the  lire  that 
forever  burns— the  worm  which  never  dies — the  lio.saiiiias  of 
heaven,  while  the  smoke  of  their  torments  ascends  for  ever  and 
ever ! 

"  To  raise  army  after  army  to  be  sacrificed,  when  the  English 
do  ail  which  is  possible  to  soften  the  rigors  of  captivity,  by  kind- 
ness to  the  prisoners  which  they  have  taken  by  thousands  and 
thousands,  restoring  them  to  their  families  without  a  ransom  and 
without  their  request ;  to  carry  on  such  a  war  after  their  only 
avowed  cause  had  been  removed,  is  it  not  the  lawless  attacks  of 
Goths  and  Vandals,  the  daring  pillage  of  wild  Arabs,  a  libidinous 
outrage  on  all  the  principlesof  Cliristianity,  an  impious  abandon- 
ment of  Divine  protection  ? 

"  The  legislators  who  yielded  to  this  war,  when  assailed  by  the 
manifesto  of  thi.'ir  angry  chief,  established  iniquity  and  murder 
by  law. 

"  In  the  first  onset  (of  the  war)  moral  principle  was  set  at  defi- 
ance. The  laws  of  God  and  hopes  of  man  were  utterly  disdained. 
Vice  threw  off  her  veil,  and  crimes  were  decked  with  the  highest 
honours.  This  war  not  only  tolerate%  crimes,  but  calls  for  them, de- 
mands them.  Crimes  are  the  food  of  its  life,  the  arms  of  its  strength. 
This  war  is  a  monster  which  every  hour  gormandizes  a  thousand 


■^:miif-^ 


'%^:^ 


'  '<  1 .  ■■'.».. 


56 


II  IS  TO  It  I  CM-     SKKTCII 


[JUNK,   1811 


••ritiics,  ;ind  yv.l  cv'w.s  'i,'iv(',  i,MV<!  !'  In  its  birih  it  (IciiiiiiKlcd  llm 
viokilioii  of  all  i,'()()(l  I'ailli;  pi'iiiiiy  ol'ollici*  ;  the  saciilict!  olnt'ii- 
frnl  iinpartiaiily.  TIk;  first  iiioiin'ii!  in  vvliich  tlio  cIi.'i«j[om  moved, 
piracy  and  murder  wore  loj^alizod.  1  lavoc,  death,  and  conllai,'ra- 
tion  wen;  lln'  viands  of  lii>r  lirst  repast. 

"'rii()S(3  western  states  which  have  b(!pn  violent  for  this  ahonn- 
nablo  war  of  murder,  Miose  stales  which  have  thirsted  Inr  blood, 
(lod  lias  given  them  hlood  to  drink.  Their  laiiVMitations  are  deep 
and  loud. 

"  Our  irovornment,  it'  tliny  may  be  called  the  i^ovcrimicnt,  and 
not  lh(!  (h'stroyers  of  the  country,  bear  all  these  thiiiirs  as  pa- 
tiently as  a  colony  of  convicts  sail  into  Botany  Hay." 

Such  wore  some  of  the  eastern  pulpit  rulminalions  against  the 
war.  Detestation  of  fellow-countryuien,  idolatry  of  the  enemy, 
diyniend)erment  of  the  Union,  diabolical  hatred  of  tlu;  French- 
;ire  the  materials  of  rhapsodies,  still  not  without  the  redeeming 
spirit  of  conviction,  or  the  miction  of  that  peculiar  oratory 
which,  from  the  pages  of  Scripture,  liglits  tin;  torch  by  its  (lagrani 
denunciations.  Tlic  same  exclusive  provincialism  limited  the; 
tmirbid,  otherwise  elegant  speeches  of  Fisher  Ames  to  evanes- 
eeiit  recollection,  while  the  Catholic  nationality  of  Adams'  em- 
balms his  with  historical  odour. 

During  tlie  French  liostilities  of  the  latter's  presidency,  adhe- 
sion to  his  administration  was  siirnalized  by  the  same  furious  de- 
clamation from  the  pulpit  and  the  l)ar  of  New  England,  which 
afterwards  turned  to  sour  opposition  to  the  war  against  Groat 
Britain.  In  a  Fourth  of  .Inly  address  by  one  of  the  clergy,  he 
charged  his  hearers  to  watch  the  ungrateful  souls  who  murmur 
about  taxation  and  oppression,  the  burdens  of  government  and 
religion,  as  traitors  to  God  and  Christianity  ;  to  be  jealous  of  those 
who  declaimed  against  alien  and  sedition  laws,  for  they  had  pro- 
bably a  hanlceriiig  for  lying  and  rebellion.  TIk;  reverend  gentle- 
man added,  "Cursed  be  he  that  keepeth  back  his  sword  from  blood; 
let  him  that  hath  none  sell  his  coat  and  buy  one  ;  the  contest  is 
desirable."  "  The  intimate  connection,"  said  another  clergyman, 
in  an  address  to  President  Adams  from  a  convention  of  Congrega- 
tional ministers,  "between  our  civil  and  (Christian  blessings,  is 
alone  sufficient  to  justify  the  decided  j)art  which  the  clergy  oi 
America  have  uniformly  taken  in  supporting  the  constituted  au- 


ar 


w 

sit 


Sti 

di 


( iiAP.  r.) 


OV    TIIK    WAK    ()!•'     1H12. 


w 


i 


•i 


tlioiiiii'saiul  political  iiistiliitioiis  o("ilu!irctn.iitry."  •'  As  citizens," 
snyn  uiiotliisr, "  we  ought,  vvitli  oiio  hoait,  to  clouvo  to  uml  siip|»i)i t 
our  own  yovtiriiinont ;  to  ropol  with  indignation  uvoiy  sni,"^«'sti«)n 
aiuJ  slandoions  insinnation  calcnlatitd  to  weaken  a  jnst  coniidiMicc 
in  the  rcuaiiude  ol"  the  inl(;ntions  of  onr  constitnted  aiith()iiti(;s." 

Yet  ihechurcli  has  its  schisms  and  lends,  when  distraction  vents 
itself  in  division:  without  superior  authority  to  quell  or  regulate 
thotn,  the  cinirch  is  as  liahle  to  coniinolion  as  civil  government; 
the  most  peculiar,  if  not  most  peac(!abl(i  of  all,  is  without  disci- 
pline heyond  reason  and  inward  faith.  Churches  are  every  day 
in  America  raised  and  built  by  popular  or  poltiuiical  preachers, 
Elo(iuence  is  capital  as  reliable  as  orthodoxy.  Not  only  clergy- 
men, but  many  others  of  the  devout  of  both  sexc^s  go,  as  it  were, 
armed  with  coiUrovi-rsial  talent.  Some  si;cts,  by  printed  homilies, 
war  on  others.  Not  one  is  passive,  not  one  obedient  to  govern- 
ment. Many  deem  it  a  duty  to  denounce  as  siid'ul  whatever 
political  or  social  error  they  dcein  sucli.  Thousands  of  popes 
exconmumicato.  The  .scalibld,  stake  and  incarceration  are  sup- 
planted by  anatlietnas  which,  with  overwhelming  inlhience,  attack 
all  backslidings  doomed  to  reprobation.  The  passages  liom  ser- 
mons exactly  belbrc  rpioted,  indicate  a  church  militant  in  the 
United  States,  with  acrimonious  faculties.  Freedom  prevails  in 
the  church  as  for  the  press  and  for  speech ;  and  the  results  of 
the  experiment  ani  wonderfully  working  out.  Still  the  spirit 
which  converted  the  heathen,  burned  women  for  witchcraft,  and 
propagates  doctrine  to  the  uttermost  ends  of  the  earth,  is  an  edu- 
cated and  brave  spirit,  however  intolerant  or  rancorous;  extrava- 
gant if  not  liciMitious  and  ferocious;  a  spirit  of  unconquerable 
ardour  and  patriotism  ;  a  spirit  not  meek  but  militant. 

This  elemcmt  of  American  political  iuHuence  lias  been  but  little 
attended  to.  Politics,  parties,  govermueut,  society,  maimers, 
iiabits,  education,  feel  the  meddlesomeness  of  a  voluntary  church, 
whose  nuinberlcns  creeds  arc  propagated  by  iniuimerable  enthu- 
siasts in  restless  activity,  at  great  expense  and  every  hazard. 

The  character  and  opinions  of  the  church  had  great  effect  on 
those  of  the  state.  The  Congress  which  declared  war,  deterred 
by  the  denunciations  of  the  church  and  authorities  of  several 
states,  left  undone  the  duty  of  levying  direct  taxes  and  internal 
duties.     Altera  session  protracted  from  the  4th  November,  1811, 


^^•v^^ 


^■f>•.. 


58 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


[JUNE,  1812. 


m;1;' 


#.- 


till  the  6th  July,  1812,  it  adjourned  upon  the  declaration  of 
war,  having  enacted  many  laws  to  increase  expenditures  by 
organizing  and  augmenting  the  military  and  naval  establish- 
ments, without  any  tax  beyond  doubling  the  impost.  Five 
millions  of  treasury  notes,  one  hundred  per  cent,  addition  to 
the  impost,  and  a  loan  of  eleven  millions  of  dollars,  with  no 
other  security  than  the  surplus  of  the  eight  millions  a  year 
theretofore  pledged,  by  way  of  sinking  fund,  to  redeem  the 
existing  nationfd  debt,  then  amounting  to  forty-five  millions  ot 
dollars,  were  the  only  acts  of  the  war-declaring  Congress  for 
invigorating  the  money-sinew  of  war.  'I'he  national  income  of 
the  year  1812  was  only  about  nine  millions  and  a  half  of 
dollars.  It  soon  appeared  that  the  war  cost  between  thirty  and 
Ibrty  millions  a  year.  The  inconio  of  181:5,  with  double  duties, 
was  about  thirteen  millions,  independent  of  loans.  The  out- 
standing national  debt  of  forty-five  jnillions,  with  which  the 
war  began,  was  increased  by  less  than  three  years  of  it  to 
one  hundred  and  twenty-three  millions,  mostly  by  loans  at  six 
and  more  per  cent,  interest,  and  heavy  discount.  Within  twen- 
ty-three years  afterward,  the  whole  debt  of  the  United  States 
was  extinguished,  with  partial  atonement  for  the  non-payment 
of  that  of  the  Revolution,  by  an  extensive  pension  system,  some- 
what requiting  the  soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  defrauded  of  tlieir 
pay  by  continental  or  paper  money  and  national  insolvency.  This 
American  Republic  is  the  only  nation  that  has  ever  paid  its 
national  debts  in  full.  Other  nations  never  do  so.  While  Eng- 
land calumniates  us  for  national  dishonesty,  she  will  not,  cannot, 
no  one  supposes  that  she  ever  can  pay,  the  principal  of  her 
debt,  the  interest  of  which  has  been  frequently  compromised, 
and  for  a  quarter  of  this  century  was  paid  only  in  paper  pro- 
mises to  pay  money  which  was  not  paid.  Ourdebt  was  co;itracted 
chiefly  by  loans,  and  paid  in  paper  money,  but  it  was  legally  con- 
vertible into  money.  What  other  governments  unjustly  leave  to 
posterity,  Coiigress  paid;  the  same  generation  that  contracted  the 
debt  paid  it;  many  of  them  the  same  men  who  voted  for  the  war, 
and  supported  it  throughout.  Among  these  it  is  due  to  William 
Lowndes,  of  South  Carolina,  to  signalize  him  as  a  leading 
author  of  this  exemplary  national  honesty  and  policy,  originated 
during  the  presidency  of  James  Monroe,  and  completed  during 


)'ii 


cirAP.  i.i 


OF    THE     WAR    OF     1812. 


59 


that  of  Andrew  Jackson ;  three  men  whose  conspicuous  parts 
in  liio  war  of  1812  will  shine  in  its  annals. 

William  Lowndes  entered  Congress  a  young  man,  voted  for  the 
declaration  of  war,  and  remained  always  a  distinguished  niein- 
her  of  Congress  till  his  death,  some  years  after  the  war,  at  sea. 
on  a  voyage  prescribed  for  his  failing  health.  Extremely  tall, 
six  feet  six  inches  high,  and  slender,  not  erect  nor  of  prepo.ssess- 
ing  appearance,  he  was  a  gentleman  of  respectable  parentage,  and 
considerable  patrimonial  fortune  ;  educated  at  school  in  England, 
never  at  college  there  or  here,  well  read,  with  retentive  memory, 
a  turn  for  political  economy  and  those  principles  of  freedom 
from  industrial  restriction  which  since  flourish  in  South  Carolina. 
The  delrgation  from  that  state  in  Congress,  Langdon  Cheves, 
.lohn  C.  Calhoun,  and  William  Lowndes  particularly,  were  con- 
stant advocates  of  the  war,  opposed  to  the  restrictive  system  of 
embargoes,  non-importation,  and  non-intercourse  by  which  .leifer- 
son  strove  in  vain  to  prevent  recourse  to  arms ;  and  opposed  to 
all  such  restraints,  Mr,  Lowndes  was  retiring  and  unassuming, 
firm  and  constant  in  his  manners  and  politics;  without  a  good 
voice,  not  a  powerful  speaker;  so  generally  esteemed  and  re- 
spected that  he  was  much  regarded  as  a  statesman  fit  to  be 
president.  It  was  he  who  said  of  that  elevation  since  so  openly 
canvas.scd,  that  it  should  neither  l)c  sought  nor  avoided.  Pre- 
mature death,  when,  I  believe,  not  much  moro  than  forty  years 
of  age,  deprived  him  of  the  public  honour  which  the  United 
States  had  to  confer  on  one  i,ot,  perhaps,  so  popular  with  the 
mass  as  some  others,  but  universally  respected  and  esteemed,  and 
without  enemies. 

In  1S12,  when  our  budget  was  about  twenty-five  millions, 
that  of  Great  Britain  was  near  five  liundred  millions ;  her  loan 
larger  than  our  whole  revenue. 

The  most  violent  opposition  to  the  war  came  from  Massachu- 
setts, particularly  Boston,  the  cradle  of  the  revolution,  where 
they  seeemed  to  become  as  strong  in  English  attachments  as 
they  once  were  in  aversions.  Many  of  the  most  violent  op- 
posers  of  the  war  of  1812,  almost  rebels  against  it,  were  sons 
or  near  connections  of  the  noblest  rebels  in  the  Revolution. 
Parlies  were  so  nearly  divided  there,  that  in  1812,  Caleb  Strong, 
the  candidate  of  the  peace  party  for  governor,  succeeded  by  u 


.X^'i 


'■•'.*  I 
1.  ■(■> 


:"•<.'. 

^^l;. 


:.?^ 


^.''Sffi 


60 


HISTORICAL     SKKTCir 


[JUNK,  1812. 


r/v. 


lunjority  of  but  thirtoen  hundred  out  of  more  tlian  a  hundred 
tliousand  votes  altogether,  over  Elbridgo  Gerry,  llie  candidate 
of  the  war  party,  soon  after  chosen  Vice-President  of  tlie  United 
States,     lioslon  not  long  before  was  represented  in  Congress  by 
William  Eustis,  afterwards  Secretary  of  War;  but  in  the  thir- 
teenth Congress  by  Artemas  Ward,  tiie  son,  I  believe,  of  tlie 
General  Ward  who  figured  in  the  beginning  of  the  Revolution. 
A  surviving  member  of  the   Massachusetts  delegation    in  tliat 
Congress.  INIr.  John  Reed,  now  lieutenant-governor,  in  1814  re- 
presented a  north-eastern   district,  much  of  it  taken   and  held 
by  the  British,  without  serious  molestation  from  our  people.   Tlie 
island  of  Nantucket,  part  of  the  JJoston  district,  was  neutral 
ground,  if  even  that,  throughout  the  war.     The  strongest  cham- 
pions of  incessant  and  implacable  liostility  to  war,  of  the  JMassa- 
chusetts  delegation  in  Congress,  were  Timothy  Pickering  and 
Cyrus  King.     Mr.  King  was  a  half-brother  of  Rufus  King;  an- 
other brother,  William,  was  afterwards  Governor  of  Maine.  Cyrus 
King  was  a  frequent,  vehement,  and  the  loudest  speaker  in  the 
House  of  Representatives.  Timothy  Pickerii  g's  is  aname  familiar 
and  conspicuous  in  the  first  fifty  years  of  the  United  Stales.    He 
served  in  the  commissariat  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution  ;  was 
Postmaster-General,  then  Secretary  of  State  in  Washington's  ad- 
ministration, and  as  the  latter  inherited  by  President  .lohn  Adams, 
to  whom  it  proved  an  unprofitable  devise;  for  he  became  so 
hostile  to  liis  own  chief  as  to  condemn  his  measures,  his  appoint- 
ments, and  even  carry  opposition  to  the  extreme  of  denouncing 
the  president  at  his  drawing-rooms  as  a  fool  and  a  marplot.   This 
was  because  Mr.  Adams  paused  in  going  all  lengths  in  joining 
England  in  a  war  against  France.    In  1812,  Mr.  Pickering  abated 
none  of  this  antipathy  ;  but  abominated  the  French  and  their 
emperor  as  heartily  as  the  Englishman  who  proclaimed  it  part 
of  his  creed  to  hate  a  Frenchman.     Mr.  Pickering  was  a  large- 
framed,  muscular  man,  with  a  prominent  Roman  face,  intense  in 
his  politics,  hating  Adams,  not  esteeming  Washington's  talents, 
lidding  Jefrerson  and  his  school  in  sovereign  aversion.  It  was  said 
that  Washington  spoiled  a  good  postmaster-general  to  make  a 
bad  secretary  of  state,  when  he  promoted  Mr.  Pickering  from  one 
of  these  places  to  the  other.     But  Mr.  Madison  jocularly  added 
that  after  due  allowance  for  Pickering's  abuse  of  the  French, 


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CHAP.  I.] 


OF    THE     WAR     OF     1812. 


61 


with  which  his  dispatches  were  always  spiced,  they  were  able 
papers.  In  1812  he  was  the  representative  of  wliat  was  called  the 
Essex  Junto, a  root  and  branch  opponent  of  the  war, 'ind  denounced 
all  who  loaned  money  for  it.  If  he  had  been  a  clergyman,  iiis 
homilies  would  have  been  in  unison  with  those  before  quoted 
as  specimens  ef  the  clerical  tone  of  Massachusetts ;  yet  was  he 
perhaps  as  well  entitl'^d  to  his  opiiiions  as  those  who  thought  other- 
wise, and  perfectly  sincere  in  them.  His  reputation  was  that  of  a 
consistent,  upright  man,  who  lived  and  died  firm  in  the  convic- 
tions he  cherished  :  hard,  but  honest.  On  a  great  field  day 
debate,  in  1814,  on  the  Loan  Bill,  when  the  House  in  committee 
of  the  whole  gave  six  weeks  to  those  speeches  for  political  capi- 
tal at  home  a'ld  abroad,  which  are  aiiong  the  ways  and  means 
of  free  countries  with  a  free  press — much  preferable  to  more 
serious  combats — Mr.  Pickering,  in  the  course  of  his  liarangue 
looking  through  !iis  spectacles  full  in  the  ciiairman's  face,  said, 
with  great  emphasis,  swinging  his  long  arm  aloft,  that  lie  stood 
on  a  rock.  "  J  stand  on  a  rock,"  said  he,  "from  which  all  demo- 
cracy," then  raisir.g  his  voice  and  repeating  it, "  not  all  demo- 
cracy, and  hell  to  boot,  can  move  me — the  rock  of  integrity 
and  truth." 

Governor  Strong,  in  his  message  to  the  Legislature  of  Massa- 
chusetts, likewise  from  that  same  Plymouth  rock,  denounced 
Madison's  administration  as  subservient  to  France,  discredited 
the  war  loans;  sowed  the  seeds  of  the  Hartford  Convention  next 
yeai.  The  (lovernor  of  Connecticut,  and  the  Governor  of  Mary- 
land, were  also  .strong  in  disapprobation  of  the  war.  Mr.  Gallatin, 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury's  policy,  if  not  that  of  Madison's 
administration,  to  begin  war  by  loans,  without  taxes,  contrary  to 
the  wish  of  Mr.  Langdon  Cheves,  chairman  of  the  committee 
of  Ways  and  Means,  and  other  proper  advocates  of  the  war,  ren- 
dered the  revenue  by  loans  alone,  or  mostly  so,  for  the  loans  were 
larger  than  the  income  from  customs,  the  most  vulnerable  point 
of  government,  upon  which  eastern  opposition  fastened  its  fangs 
with  furious  acritude. 

Newspapers  teemed  with  denunciation  of  such  as  should  sub- 
scribe to  war  loans,  in  which  the  pulpit  of  Boston  vied  with  tlie 
press.  "  The  sp'>scribcivi  to  war  loans,"  said  a  reverend  clergy- 
man, "would  be  participators  in  the  unholy,  unrigliteous,  wicked, 
VOL.  I. — 6 


,t;  •■■.'■:,'(Vi;| 


m^fH 


^■wi:^ 


i-'-M 


m 


JSI^''^ 


62 


HISTORICAL     SKETCH 


[JUNE,  1812. 


;  0. 


I 


abominable  and  unnatural  war."  "Let  no  one,"  said  a  press, 
"  dare  to  prostrate  himself  at  the  altar,  who  wishes  to  continue  the 
war  by  lending  monoy.  They  are  as  much  partakers  in  the  war 
as  tlio  soldier  who  thrusts  the  bayonet,  and  the  judgment  of  God 
will  overtake  them  Do  not  prevent  the  abusers  of  their  trust  be- 
coming bankrupt.  Pray  do  not :  any  federalist  who  loans  money  to 
government,  must  go  and  shake  liands  with  James  Madison,  and 
claim  fellowship  with  Felix  Grundy!  Let  him  no  more  call 
himself  a  federalist  and  friend  to  his  country.  He  will  be  called  by 
others  infamous.  Who  caii  tell  whether  future  rnlers  may  think 
the  debt  ought  to  be  pPtid  r  Two  very  strong  reasons  why  fede- 
ralists will  not.  lend  money,  are  first,  because  it  would  be  a  base 
abandonment  of  political  and  moral  principles;  secondly,  because 
it  is  pretty  certain  they  never  will  be  paid  again.  The  universal 
sentiment  is,  that  any  man  who  lends  his  money  to  the  govern- 
ment at  the  present  time,  will  forfeit  all  claim  to  common  honesty 
and  common  courtesy  among  all  true  friends  to  the  country."  As 
far  south  as  the  city  of  New  York,  where  the  kind  of  opposition 
rife  in  New  England,  did  not  prevail,  the  press  of  a  Nuw  Eng- 
land editor  declared  that  no  true  friend  to  his  country  would  be 
found  among  the  subscribers  to  the  Gallatin  loan.  "No  peace," 
said  an  eastern  clergyman,  "  will  ever  be  made  till  the  people  say 
there  shall  be  no  war.  If  the  rich  men  continue  to  furnish  money," 
said  this  minister  of  the  Gospel,  with  anguish  at  their  alacrity  of 
subscription,  "  the  war  will  continue  till  the  mountains  are  wetted 
with  blood,  till  every  field  in  America  is  white  with  the  bones  of 
the  people."  Advertisements  appeared  in  Boston  newspapers, 
promising  to  conceal  the  names  of  subscrdiers  to  the  loan;.;  such 
was  the  intimidation  leveled  at  all  who  ventured  to  subscribe. 
Timothy  Pickering  openly  and  anxiously  decried  these  loans. 

Some  years  after  the  war,  Harrison  Gray  Otis  published  fifteen 
letters  to  vindicate  the  Hartford  Convention,  of  which  he  was  a 
leading  member ;  to  the  last  of  which  is  appended  a  short  corre- 
spondence between  him  and  George  Cabot,  to  show  that  at  a 
certain  advanced  period  of  the  war,  when  a  gentleman  of  iiigh 
character  went  from  Philadelphia  to  Boston,  with  proposals  from 
opulent  persons  in  the  one  to  the  other  city,  to  be  concerned  in 
taking  one  of  the  loans  proposed  by  the  United  States,  a  meeting 
of  some  of  the  principal  and  opulent  citizens  of  Boston  was  held, 
at  which  the  expediency  of  subscribing  to  the  loan  was  considered. 


f 


» 


CHAP.  I.] 


OF    THE    WAR    OF     1812. 


63 


■j 


■f 


Mr.  Otis  urged  various  suflicient  reasons  for  subscribing,  but  was 
overruled  by  the  majority.  Luci'ative,  like  patriotic  considera- 
tions, failed.  A  respectable  descendant  of  one  of  the  discoverers  ol 
America,  Mr.  Cabot,  and  an  eminent  descendant,  Mr.  Otis,  as  he 
justly  boasts,  of  some  of  the  most  distinguished  opponents  of 
Great  IJrifain  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  with  many  other 
influential  men,  were  not  permitted  to  lend  even  their  credit  to 
government  for  the  war  of  1812:  when  the  peace  party  ticket, 
Mr  Otis  says,  was  elected  in  Massachusetts  by  a  majority  ol 
tW(,'nty-four  tlicusand. 

JJotli  the  loans  were,  nevertheless,  takon;  that  of  eleven  millions 
in  Ihi J,  chiefly  by  banks;  that  of  sixteen  millions  in  1813,  by 
David  Parish,  and  Stephen  Girard,  at  Philadelphia,  Mr.  John 
Jacob  Astor  of  New  York,  and  other  persons,  as  well  as  banks  ; 
the  latter  at  88  per  cent,  for  six  per  cent,  stock,  or  at  par  with  an 
annuity  of  one  and  a  half  per  cent,  per  annum.  Worse  than  the 
opposition  and  abuse  leveled  at  these  loans  was  tlie  resort  to 
such  expedients:  exchanging  the  credit  of  government  for  that  of 
banks  or  individuals  not  as  good  as  the  credit  of  the  government, 
paying  usury  for  the  exchange,  and  borrowing  on  such  terms 
without  taxes  or  any  other  security.  These  valid  objections  to 
Gallatin's  loans,  as  they  were  called,  were  not  mentioned ;  on  the 
contrary,  they  were  used  as  arguments  by  one  class  of  opponents 
to  persuade  another  to  subscribe,  because  of  the  manifest  gain  to 
the  lender,  and  disadvantage  to  government.  Reason  was  cast 
down  with  patriotism,  and  trampled  upon  by  factious  disaffection. 

With  resistance  to  the  war  loans,  New  England  joined  refusal 
of  their  well-organized  militia  to  the  command  of  officers  of  the 
army,  appointed  by  the  president  to  command  them.  The  con- 
stituted authorities  of  Massachusetts,  legislature,  governor,  and 
judiciary  unanimously  resolved  that  their  militia  were  not  liable 
to  be  called  out  when  the  Pi-esident  of  the  United  States  thought 
necessary,  and  that  when  called  out  he  could  not  depute  his  autho- 
rity to  command  them.  To  these  heresies  was  added  the  other 
extremely  mischievous  blow  to  the  war,  that  militia  cannot  be 
lawfully  marched  beyond  the  frontiers  of  their  own  country. 
Finally,  Mr.  Josiah  Quincy,  who  had  represented  Boston  in 
Congress,  and  said  that  th3  United  Stales  could  not  be  ki(-<ved 
into  a  war,  as  a  member  of  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts  moved 
a  resolution  that  in  a  war  waged  like  ours,  without  sufficient 


^'«'-/;'.   . 


■V' 


;>,■•■( 


-,'S'-i; 


■.»,. 


,,,•-,■    '.v.V'  H 


vt 


64 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


[JUNE,  1812. 


i)  ..  ,;-i 


i 


.1      .  ■!■!  ■ 


^1''. 


cause,  and  prosecuted  in  a  manner  indicating  that  conquest  and 
ambition  were  its  real  motives,  it  was  unbecoming  a  moral  and 
religions  people  to  express  any  api  robation  of  military  or  naval 
exploits,  not  immediately  connected  with  the  defence  of  our 
coast  and  soil.  The  gentleman  who  moved  this  resolution  was 
of  revolutionary  pedigree ;  Governor  Strong  had  been  an  officer 
of  the  Revolution;  like  many  others  equally  unreserved  in  resist- 
ance to  the  war  of  1812,  they  never  lost  the  confidence  of  those 
by  whom  they  were  elevated  to  high  public  stations :  which, 
together  with  all  other  indications,  infers  a  state  of  enmity  to  the 
war  and  the  administration  of  it,  deeply  rooted  in  the  public 
sentiment  of  that  intelligent  part  of  the  country. 

This  feeling  of  exasperated  opposition  to  the  war,  predomi- 
nant in  New  England,  sent  to  Congress  some  thirty-five  of  the 
forty  members  of  the  popular  branch,  and  seven  of  the  ten 
senators  from  that  quarter  of  the  Union,  with  ilie  coi'fidence  of 
four  states,  and  the  influence  of  powerful  talent  in  both  Houses, 
ably  sustained  by  eminent  members  of  the  New  York,  New 
Jersey,  North  Carolina,  and  Maryland  delegations.  Daniel 
Webster,  the  son  of  a  New  Hampshire  fanner,  not  then  distin- 
guished as  he  has  since  become,  was  among  the  first,  of  whom 
Jeremiah  Mason,  Timothy  l*ickering,  and  Timothy  Pitkin,  were 
the  most  conspicuous,  from  New  England,  Mr.  Webster's  dark 
complexion,  sunk  and  searching  eye,  prominent  brow,  volumi- 
nous head,  and  well-sized  person,  are  good  frontispiece  of  his 
powerful  intellect  and  oratory.  Diction  chaste,  pure,  and  ele- 
gant ;  logic  admirable ;  but  action  not  animated  or  attractive, 
render  his  speeches  less  effective  when  delivered  than  as  read 
afterwards.  His  greatest  performances  are  elaborations.  What- 
ever nature  has  done,  labour  does  her  part  too.  Not  merely 
education,  but  after-culture,  without  which  the  learning  of  schools, 
however  indispensable,  seldom  sufficcG.  Evolving  striking 
thoughts  with  great  force,  though  occasionally  sarcastic  or  ironi- 
cal, he  is  never  aggressive,  personal,  or  rude.  It  was  said  that 
when  William  Pinkney  was  at  the  head  of  the  bar  of  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States,  he  designated  Mr.  Webster 
as  fit  to  follow  him  there,  where  his  pertbrniances  soon  came  to 
be  su>-'h,  that  after  Pinkney's  death,  he  was  die  acknowledged 
le;  dfr.  Mr.  Webster  came  to  the  House  of  Represeniatives,one 
of  the  New  Hampshire  members.      During  the  war  of  1812, 


III; 


} 


CHAP.  I.] 


OF    THE    WAR    OF     1812. 


65 


^»e^v  Hampshire  was  a  federal  state,  and  Vermont  democratic, 
party  positions  which  they  have  changed  since. 

By  act  of  Congress  of  the  Sth  April,  1812,  the  Territory  of 
Louisiana  was  declared  to  be  one  of  tlie  United  States  of  Ame- 
rica, and  admitted  into  the  Union  on  an  equal  footing  with  the 
original  states,  with  one  member  in  the  House  of  Representatives. 
The  ei;_iteen  states  thus  constituting  the  Union,  by  the  act  of 
the  23d  December,  ISll,  apportioning  representatives  at  the 
rate  of  one  for  every  thirty-five  thousand  inhabitants,  pursuant 
to  the  third  enuni'iration  of  the  whole,  numbered  one  hundred 
and  seventy-seven  members  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  thirty-six  senators,  altogether  two  hundred  and  thirteen 
members  of  Congress,  besides  the  Vice-president  of  the  United 
State*-,  presiding  in  the  Senate.  Tlie  New  York  delegation  of 
f'./enty-seven  members  of  the  House,  was  then,  for  the  first  time, 
more  numerous  than  that  of  any  other  state.  Pennsylvania  was 
the  second  state  in  members,  having  twenty-three  representa- 
tives; Virginia  tlie  third,  with  twenty-two.  The  members  from 
New  Hampshire,  most  of  those  from  Massachusetts,  then  includ- 
ing Maine,  those  of  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island,  New  Jersey, 
and  IMaware,  with  several  from  New  York,  some  from  Virginia 
and  North  Carolina,  one  from  Pennsylvania,  and  three  from 
Maryland,  opposed  the  war.  '1  he  members  from  Vermont, 
some  from  New  York,  all  but  one  from  Pennsylvania,  most  from 
Maryland,  Virginia,  and  North  Carolina,  all  from  South  Caro- 
lina, Georgii',  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Ohio,  and  Louisiana,  sup- 
ported it  The  States  of  New  Hampshire,  Connecticut,  Rhode 
Island,  New  York,  and  Delaware  were  represented  by  senators 
opposed  to  the  war.  Massachusetts  and  Maryland  were  divided. 
Venuout,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina, 
Georgia,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  Ohio,  and  Louisiana  were  repre- 
sented by  senators  supporting  the  war,  in  the  first  session  of  the 
thirteenth  Congress.  Of  course  there  were  some  shades  of 
opinion  in  both  Houses.  A  senator  from  each  of  the  States  of 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  \'irginia,  and  Maryland  was  indis- 
posed to  Madison's  administration;  as  also  two  or  three  mem- 
bers of  the  House  of  Representatives  from  North  and  South 
Carolina  and  Kentucky.  Of  the  large  commercial  towns,  Boston 
and  New  York  were  represented  by  members  opposed  to  the 
war.      Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  Charleston,  and  New  Orleans, 


■\'£?i\ 


Ut. 


66 


HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


[JUNE,  1812. 


."^ 


!V     '■'•, 


by  members  for  it.  The  eastern  states  were  mostly  opposed 
to  it.  Tlie  west  all  tor  it.  The  southern  an  J  middle  states  divided. 
The  war  administration  had  a  majority  of  about  forty  votes  in 
the  House  of  Representatives,  and  of  several  in  the  Senate.  The 
war  was  opposed  by  most  of  the  merchants,  lawyers,  and  clergy, 
and  some  of  the  planters.  It  was  suijported  generally  by  the 
farmers,  planters,  mechanics,  mariners,  and  the  mass  of  the 
people.  Taking  the  reasoning  faculty  of  the  country  for  judge, 
probably  the  declaration  of  war  was  mostly  condemned;  but 
the  instinctive  patriotism  of  the  young,  the  laborious  and  ardent 
enthusiastically  maii.'aincd  it.  Few  denied  that  there  was 
cause  enough;  though  the  time  and  mode  were  condemned. 

With  Mr.  Webster  came  Mr.  Jeremiah  Mason,  a  senator  from 
New  Hampshire,  still  living,  an  eminent  lawyer  at  lioston.  His 
politics  obnoxious  to  the  democratic  party  of  New  Hampshire, 
wlien  they  gained  the  ascendant,  induced  an  attack  on  Mr.  Mason 
as  president  of  the  IJranch  ]iank  of  the  United  States,  at  Ports- 
mouth, which  ended  in  his  change  of  residence  to  IJoston.  The 
combination  for  his  discharge  from  the  bank  was  resisted  by 
Nicholas  liiddle,  the  president  of  that  institution,  between  whom 
and  Mr.  Samuel  D.  Ingham,  then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  began 
the  skirmish  that  became  exterminating  conllict  between  the 
bank  and  President  .lackson.  Mr.  iMat.oii.  six  feet  seven  inches 
tall,  and  corpulent,  was  one  of  the  most  frccpient  and  formidable 
debaters  of  the  Senate,  sagacious,  sarcastic,  active,  well-informed, 
one  of  the  ablest  opponents  of  the  war  and  Madison's  adminis- 
tration. 

The  leader  of  the  federal  party  in  the  Senate  during  the  war, 
was  a  native  of  Massachusetts;  and  one  of  the  delegates  from 
that  respectable  commonwealth  to  the  Convention  which  formed 
the  present  constitution  of  the  United  Statt's,  in  which  assembly 
of  wise  men,  though  then  a  young  one,  he  was  conspicuous  for 
abilities — Mr.  Rufus  King.  Marryiiig  a  lady  of  considerable 
fortune  in  New  York,  he  established  himself  there,  and  repre- 
sented that  state  in  the  Senate  of  the  Union,  during  part  of 
Washington's  presidency.  Appointed  by  him  to  succeed  Major, 
afterwards  Major-General  Thomas  Pinckney,  as  American  min- 
ister to  England,  Mr.  King  resided  there  during  seven  years, 
under  Washington,  John  Adams,  and  Jefferson's  administrations, 
returning  to  New  York  in  1803  :  some  years  after,  again  electci 
to  the  Senate.    It  was  well  for  the  country  that  he  filled  the  im- 


tei 

CO  I 

or 
SeJ 


CHAP.  I.] 


or    THK     VVAFl    OF     IS12. 


fu 


A 


portant  station  ol"  leader  of  the  minority  during  tlie  war,  lor  he 
v/as  liberal,  fair,  and  conciliatoiy,  never  tlie  patron  of  intemperate 
or  factious  opposition.  He  was  a  mati  well  educated  and  well 
informed,  fond  of  learning,  a  good  speaker  and  writer, a  federalist 
of  the  school  of  Washington,  with,  perhaps,  some  of  Hamilton's 
more  English  piopensifics,  but,  like  them  both,  patriotic  in  Ame- 
rican predilections.  His  party  designed  him  for  the  presidency 
He  subscribed,  I  think,  to  the  war  loans,  and  his  opposition  to  it 
was  never  personal  to  Madison's  administration.  In  182.5,  Presi- 
dent John  Quincy  Adams  appointed  him  again  minister  to  Eng- 
land ;  after  a  short  stay  there,  alUicted  with  the  gout,  he  returned, 
and  closed  a  long  life  of  eminent  public  service.  If  New  England 
had  been  induenced  in  1812  and  1813  by  Mr.  King's  temperate 
and  honourable  spirit,  the  states  which  frustrated  the  war  might 
have  added  Canada  to  their  weight  in  tlie  Union. 

There  was,  indeed,  abundant  basis  for  legitimate  opposition, 
without  resort  to  what  was  unfounded,  if  not  unprincipled.  The 
country  suffered  not  less  from  its  government,  than  from  the 
party  making  opposition  to  it.  The  executive  and  Congress  of 
1812  were  both  obnoxious  to  severe  aniniadversioi.,  and  it  is 
the  part  of  all  historical  recollection  to  explain  the  extreme  im- 
perfectness,  from  which  the  United  States  were  providentially 
rescued  by  the  inherent  energies  and  resources  of  a  free,  martial, 
and  intellectual  people.  At  the  same  time,  large  allowances  are 
due  to  those  on  whom  the  experiment,  for  such  it  was,  devolved 
of  making  war  without  soldiers  or  oflicers,  money,  taxes,  or  ma- 
mifactures.  As  the  country  grows,  even  with  republican  repug- 
nance to  restraint,  it  improves  in  military  preparations.  The 
United  States  are  much  further  advanced  in  armament  now, 
compared  with  1812,  than  in  1812  they  were  compared  with 
177().  Thirty  years  of  popular  and  lucrative  peace,  in  1812 
found  the  government  not  only  without  most  of  the  means  and 
science,  but  nearly  all  the  spirit  and  aptitude  for  hostilities. 

The  war  began  with  a  presidont  commander-in-chief  who  ab- 
horred war;  a  man  of  probity,  and,  as  a  chief  magistrate,  resolved 
to  do  all  he  could  for  its  prosecution.  But  he  had  no  taste,  pre- 
tended to  no  knowledge  of  it,  and  did  not  even  sustain  himself  by 
counsellors  knowing  more  than  he.  The  only  one,  with  any  turn 
or  experience  that  way,  was  not  appointed  for  that  reason;  the 
Secretary  of  State,  Mr.  Monroe,  had  never  performed  more  than 


68 


HISTORICAL    SKKTCII 


[JUNE,  1812. 


slitflit  military  scrvico  many  years  before,  as  a  licutenaiit  or  aid- 
do-camp.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr.  (iallatin,  avow- 
edly o|t[)osed  to  dci'iariiii?  war,  after  it  was  declared,  deuued 
speedy  peace,  by  other  than  belligere'it  means,  the  only  salva- 
tion of  the  country.  The  Secretary  of  War,  East  is,  had  probably 
never  seen  a  brigade  of  regular  troops,  had  never  served  in  any 
military  capacity  or  had  any  knowledge  of  the  subject.  'I'hc 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Hamilton,  liad,  perhaps,  never  seen  a 
ship  of  war,  had  no  knowledge  whatever  of  naval  affairs.  The 
attorney-irenoral,  Pinkney,  questioned  whether  war  was  not 
premature  while  government  was  so  entirely  nnpre|)ared.  The 
Po>tmaster-(ieneral,  (lideon  Granger,  not  then,  as  now,  a  cabi- 
net ollicer,  but  at  the  head  of  a  department  important  for  military 
operations,  was  disafiected  to  tiie  president,  in  party  sympathies 
with  senators  and  others  professing,  periiaps  entertaining,  inclina- 
tions for  the  war,  but  denying  that  with  Madison  as  loader,  it 
ever  could  prosper.  The  numerous  and  respectable  party,  wlio, 
as  a  party  opposed  the  declaration  of  war,  not  quite  as  well 
founded  in  their  resistance  to  it,  as  those  who,  in  1775  and  177() 
opposed  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  had,  nevertlujiess, 
much  reason  in  the  alleged  precipitancy  of  the  step  for  resisting 
it.  If  the  peace  party  of  1812  liad,  like  the  temporizers  of  the 
Hevolution,  acquiesced  when  tlie  declaration  lawfully  took  place, 
their  position  would  have  been  not  only  honourable,  but  for  the 
first  two  years  of  war,  during  its  wretched  noviciate,  more  envi- 
able than  that  of  the  war  party.  But  in  New  England  [)ariicu- 
larly,  either  from  sectional  temperament,  or  because  several  states 
there  were  governed  by  those  always  opposed  to  .leflerson  and 
Madison's  government,  and  held  the  local  power  with  angry 
disaffection  to  wield  it,  opposition  was  carried  beyond  all  patri- 
otic bounds,  until  at  length,  touching  upon  treason,  it  was  fortu- 
nately crushed  by  western  and  southern  victories,  together  with 
maritime  successes,  and  English  unwarrantable  warfare,  rousing 
and  uniting  the  masses  who  think  less  than  feel,  together  with  the 
considerate  and  calculating,  to  rally  round  the  federal  government 
for  support,  to  save  the  Union  from  dismemberment,  the  states 
from  anarchy,  the  country  from  civil,  worse  than  foreign  war. 

The  conjuncture  was  altogether  new  for  the  executive  ;  a  single 
and  responsible  chief-magistrate  with  great  constitutional  power, 
indeed,  which  no  one  comprehended  more  fully  and  precisely 


uni 

his 

nc\ 

me 

on 

iiH 


CHAP,  h] 


OF     THE    WAR    OF     1812. 


69 


than  Madison.  The  ntterniost  cniergencios  of  war  never  ex- 
torted (roni  liirn  any  excess  of  anthority.  If  Do  Wilt  Clinton  had 
sujierscded  Madison,  by  the  presidential  election  of  1H12,  it  is  no 
disparagement  of  either  to  say  that  the  tone  of  executive  action 
would  liave  been  much  more  imposing ;  such  is  the  ditference 
of  men's  minds  on  any  given  subject.  There  was  nothing  like 
that  potent  secret  machinery,  wliich  in  other  countries  acts  with 
great  ellect  as  police :  no  fund  of  secret  service  money.  'I'he 
president  was  obliged  to  do  openly  nearly  all  he  could  do.  A 
much  abused  act  of  Congress  of  179S,  concerning  alien  ene- 
mies, which  Madison  and  Gallatin  opposed  as  unconstitutional, 
and  thoir  partisans  stigmatized  as  one  of  the  worst  rescripts  of 
what  was  called  the  Reign  of  Terror,  was  waked  from  slumber, 
to  confer  nearly  all  the  authority  President  Madison  had  or 
found  necessary  lor  much  of  his  interior  government.  This  law 
provides  that  in  case  of  war,  invasion,  or  predatory  incursion, 
attempted  or  threatened  against  the  United  States,  by  any  foreign 
nation  or  government,  and  the  president  proclaiming  the  event, 
all  males  of  the  hostile  nation,  upwards  of  fourteen  years  of  age, 
and  unnaturalized,  may  be  ap|»reliended,  restrained,  secured,  and 
removed  as  ali(!n  enemies:  for  which  purpose  the  {)resident  is 
authorized  by  public  act  to  provide.  The  courts  of  the  United 
States,  and  of  each  state,  having  criminal  jurisdiction,  are  or- 
dered to  take  cognizance  of  such  cases,  and  the  marshals  of  the 
several  districts  to  remove  alien  enemies  out  of  the  territory  of 
the  United  States,  pursuant  to  order  of  the  courts,  or  the  presiaent. 
This  act,  with  a  supplement  of  July  1812,  immaterial  to  our  pre- 
sent object,  conferred  all  the  executive  power  the  president  had, 
except  as  sucli  by  the  declaration  of  war,  and  inherent  signifi- 
cancy  of  that  term.  Before  the  congress  which  declared  war 
adjourned,  they  provided  in  the  last  moment  of  session  by  a  hasty 
enactment,  that  the  president  should  have  power  to  make  such 
regulations  and  arrangements  for  the  safe  keeping,  support  and 
exchange  of  prisoners  of  war  as  he  might  deem  expedient, 
until  otherwise  provided  for  by  law,  and  placed  SlOO.OOO  at 
liis  disposal  for  that  purpose.  But  the  succeeding  congress 
never  did  otherwise  make  legal  provision  for  the  purpose,  or 
meddle  with  the  matter  at  all.  General  John  Mason,  then  living 
on  his  beautiful  island  of  Analoston,  in  the  Potomac,  near  Wash- 
ington in  hospitable  elegance,  a  favourite  with  'he  president,  and 


1 


70 


HISTORICAL     SKKTCH 


[JUNK,   1812. 


I      '. 


deservedly  so,  for  he  poil'oriiicd  tlic  dutk's  of  tlic  odioe  with 
ability,  was  appointed  coiiitiiissaiy  general  of  prisoners,  by  exe- 
cutive liat,  without  specified  autliority  i)y  act  of  Congress.  The 
niarslials,  by  tlie  before-mentioned  net  of  17!tH, directed  to  re- 
move alien  enemies  out  of  our  territories,  were  likewise  by  the 
mere  war  executive  power  of  the  jjresident  made  to  place  them  in 
security  at  cerlain  distances  from  sea-ports  within  the  I'nited 
States.  In  all  tiie  business  of  life,  much  is  accomplished  imper- 
ce|)tibly,  almost  of  itself.  In  war  there  must  needs  be  njany  im- 
portant things  done  by  inherent  or  constructive  power;  imder  a 
government  of  granted  and  limited  authorization,  an  everlasting 
subject  of  dis|)ute.  It  wun  fortunate  lor  tiie  country  that  how- 
ever imperfectly  some  of  the  belligerent  functions  were  per- 
Ibrmed  by  one  so  scrupulous  and  fastidious  as  Madison,  no  one 
understood  better  the  exact  amount  of  his  authority,  or  was  less 
inclined  to  make  more  of  it  than  the  law  allowed. 

In  all  Europ(,'an  govt;rnments,  there  is  a  power  of  secret  and 
cU'ectuul  instrumentality  called  police,  which  acts  with  great  au- 
thority. This  was  wholly  unknown  in  the  United  States. — 
Though  the  war  was  alleged  to  be  partly  caused  by  Henry's 
clandestine  mission  from  Canada  into  New  England,  and  Madi- 
son's atiministration  gave  hitn  S50,()()0  lor  disclosing  that  design, 
(probably  more  than  the  disclosure  was  worth,)  yd  was  there 
no  American  emissary  anywhere.  Congress  usually  appropriate 
annually  a  small  sum  for  the  expenses  of  intercourse  with  foreign 
nations;  for  the  year  ISi;},  S^.5,l()<).  Nearly  tiie  wliole  appro- 
priation for  the  army,  and  for  the  navy,  was  to  be  paid  by 
borrowed  and  paper  money.  The  Postmaster-General,  Gran- 
ger,of  Connecticut,  a  large  man  in  person,  shrewd  but  disinclined 
to  Madison's  administration,  if  not  to  the  war,  like  Mr.  Gallatin 
iidierited  by  Madison  from  Jellerson's  administration,  though 
tlie  postmaster-general  was  not  then,  as  since,  a  cabinet  ollicer — 
Granger  was  so  inimical  to  Madison,  that  he  found  it  necessary 
in  ISlt,  to  remove  him  from  ollice,  and  appoint  the  Governor 
of  Ohio,  Return  Jonathan  Meigs,  instead.  This  department 
throughout  the  war  rendered  but  little  aid  to  it. 

The  incongruity  between  appropriations  and  provision  for  them 
by  taxation,  was  such,  that  without  a  cent  to  be  raised  by  taxes, 
more  than  fi(  teen  millions  of  dollars  were  appropriated  for  the  army, 
and  nearly  two  million  seven  hundred  thousand  for  the  navy, 


CHAP.  I.] 


OP     THK     WAR     OK     1SI2. 


71 


when  tlio  inroinn  by  rnstonis  for  l.sil  tlid  iiotoxcood  tliirtocii  niil- 
lioiis,  and  that  of  1813  was  only  about  iiino  niilhoiisand  a  half.  All 
modern  wars  arc  carried  on  in  part  by  loans,  hut  loans  secnred  hy 
taxes.  Our  war  was  to  bo  sustained  hy  borrowed  money  without 
taxes,  at  any  rate  till  after  the  [)rosidential  election.  TIk;  loan  of 
sixteen  millions,  authori/ed  by  act  of  the  Hih  of  Fehrnary,  181 U, 
superadded  to  that  for  eleven  millions,  authori/ed  by  act  of  the 
llth  of  March,  isi'J,  together  with  aii  issue  of  live  millions  of 
treasury  notes  by  act  of  tho  KOth  of  .Funo  1813;  these  thirty-two 
millions  of  dollars,  borrowed  without  .uiy  substantial  [ilodge  for 
payment,  of  even  interest  of  the  debt  to  that  amount,  were  tho 
d(!vice  of  the  treasury,  and  the  delusion  of  (.'ciigre:  s.  The  loan 
of  181U,  for  sixteen  millions  of  dollais,  v  as  take,  at  88  pev  cent, 
for  (i  per  cent,  stocks,  or  at  par  with  an  annuity  of  one  aiit  -i  half 
jiercent.  pcranmnn.  Seven  millions  of  tho  suui  were  tuL)  cribod 
by  Stephen  (lirardand  David  Parish,  two  millios  by  John  Jacob 
Astor,  the  other  seven  millions  by  ditl'erent  biiL:-.  and  persons, 
mostly  at  Philadcli)hia  and  New  York.  Stepiien  (lirard  being 
by  birth  a  Frenchman,  Astor  and  Parish  Germans,  and  Mr.  Gal- 
latin a  Swiss,  though  all  American  citizens  of  high  standing, 
and  all  hut  Parish  of  long  standing,  it  was  objected  that  all  the 
means  the  American  government  iiad  for  car'ving  on  the  war 
were  supplied  l)y  foreigners;  an  imputation  to  which  nearly  all 
the  governments  of  Europe,  since,  liavo  frequently  been  ob- 
noxious, if  not  always.  Governments,  like  individuals,  when 
incline  (I  to  borrow,  get  the  loan  wherever  they  can.  It  was 
a  uuicli  more  serious  objection  to  this  loan  of  ours  that  it  was  a 
resort,  if  not  ruinous,  at  least  daiiji  '^ns,  to  that  wasteful  system 
of  finance  which  paper  money,  biniic-credils  and  devolution  of 
payment  on  posterity  engrafted  on  the  stock  of  substantial  revenue. 
It  was  also  remarked  that  while  Krcnchmen  and  Germans  supplied 
our  war  funds,  their  administvuiion  was  confided  through  the  war 
to  Mr.  Gallatin,  a  Swiss,  Mr.  Campbell,  a  Scotchman,  and  Mr. 
Dallas,  an  Englishman:  to  which  also,  however,  the  reply  was 
that  the  American  fmancial  system  originated  with  Kobert  Mor- 
ris, an  Englishman,  and  Alexander  Hamilton,  a  native  of  an  En- 
glish West  India  island.  My  small  subscription,  (of  all  I  was 
worth,  however,)  in  the  alphabetical  list  of  the  Bank  of  Penn- 
sylvania, came  next  to  that  of  a  rich  German,  Jacob  Gerard 
Koch,  who  subscribed  half  a  mi'lion  of  dollars.     0  iposition  to 


Pll[ 


72 


HISTORICAL     SKKTCH 


[JUNK,  ;812. 


■V!]l 

■   1! 


'.*!?( 


the  loans  caused  some  reacting  patriotism  ;  and  many  subscribed 
more  than  they  otherwise  would,  in  order  to  show  their  con- 
fidence in  the  government  and  support  of  the  war  :  of  which  class 
Mr.  Koch  was  one. 

Thus  curtailed  of  war's  common  appliances  at  home,  the 
Senate  deprived  Madison  abroad  of  whatever  the  House  of  Re- 
presentatives did  not  combine  with  it  to  stint  him  of.  The  presi- 
dent's power  is  strongly  executive  to  fortify  the  country  with  sen- 
tinels in  the  character  of  foreign  ministers  whenever  he  may  think 
proper.  Madison  had  never  been  on  any  of  those  missions,  but 
Monroe  and  Pinkney  who  had,  were  well  aware  of  their  im- 
portance at  such  a  conjuncture.  They  would  have  been  of  great 
importance  to  plead  and  vindicate  the  cause  of  our  forlorn  war  in 
Europe,  lint  it  lingered  for  more  than  a  year  without  one  such 
help.  Mr.  Adams  was  in  Russia ;  but  like  Mr.  Gallatin,  of  opinion 
that  nothing  but  prompt  peace  could  save  the  country  from  ruin. 
Joel  Barlow,  our  minister  to  France,  died  at  Zarnowich,  in  Po- 
land, the  2Gth  of  December,  1813.  .fonathan  Russel,  transferred 
from  Paris  to  London,  was  American  charge  d'affaires  there,  only 
till  the  declaration  of  war  withdrew  his  faculties.  Mr.  George 
W.  Erving  went  in  1811  on  a  special  mission  to  Denmark,  like 
Mr.  Adams,  far  from  the  scene  lor  explanation  ;  and  not  commis- 
sioned with  any  special  view  to  it.  Till  Mr.  Crawford  took  Mr. 
Barlow's  place,  in  A|)ril,  1813,  we  had  hardly  a  representalivc  in 
all  Europe.  Austria,  Prussia,  Italy,  Spain,  Holland,  Portugal, 
Sweden,  where  we  now  have  puljlic  agents,  (and  even  the  Con- 
gress of  the  Revolution  deemed  them,  as  they  always  are,  essen- 
tial,) were  without  an  American  public  minister  or  private  emis- 
sary. It  is  true  that  Holland  and  Portugal,  Italy  and  other  parts 
of  Europe  were  then  welded  into  the  vast  nrAchinery  of  French 
dominion.  Yet  while  Spain  was  disputed  between  Ferdinand 
and  Joseph,  we  had  no  minister  there,  for  what,  under  the  pecu- 
liar circumstances,  was  the  very  reason  why  two  should  have 
been  commissioned  or  more  if  necessary.  Madison  was  thwarted 
by  a  jealous  Senate.  In  May,  1813,  when  he  nominated  Jona- 
than Russel  as  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Sweden,  the  appoint- 
ment was  negatived  by  the  Senate  on  frivolous  pretences  largely 
set  forth  in  publications  on  the  subject  by  William  B.  Giles, 
one  of  the  Virginia  senators.  In  November  of  that  year,  Mr. 
De  Kanlzow  arrived  at  Washington  as  minister  resident  from 


m 


CHAP.  I.] 


FORKKiN     UKLATIONS. 


73 


Svvcdeti,  and  tlien,  at  last,  Mr.  Russel  was  sufl'erod  to  pass  the 
Senate,  liut  tlie  president  should  have  had  several  more  at  other 
European  capitals ;  his  power  for  that  purpose  was  ample,  as 
Washington  had  exercised  it  without  the  sanction  of  the  Senate. 
Excepting,  however,  the  special  mission  of  Messrs.  Gallatin  and 
Hayard,  to  be  united  with  Mr.  Adams  at  Gottenburg,  under  the 
fruitless  Russian  mediation,  the  whole  war  was  conducted  from 
first  to  last  without  a  diplomatic  assistant  in  Europe.  When 
Mr.  Crawford  reached  Paris  the  French  government  was  help- 
less, was  English.  Mr.  IJayard,  a  gentleman  of  too  much  honour 
and  integrity  to  be  wanting  to  his  country,  was,  nevertheless,  of 
the  party  opposed  to  war;  Mr.  Adams  soliciting  the  Russian 
mediation,  confessed  to  Romanslzoff,  the  Czar's  minister,  that 
the  war  could  do  no  good  ;  he  had  no  hope  of  it ;  he  avowed  his 
hostile  feelings  against  France.  Mr.  Gallatin  went  still  further  in 
([nest  of  any  peace  rather  than  any  war.  Our  foreign  relations 
were  deserted  and  desolate. 


'i<: 
■'J' 


'   ->: 


vol,.  I.  —  7 


m- 


74 


INVASION     OF     CANADA, 


[JUNE,  1812. 


CHAPTEll    II. 


INVASION  OF  CANADA.— HALIFAX  CAMPAIGN.— HULL'S  KXPKDITION.— 
CAI'TUIIK  OF  MICHILIMACINACK.  — HULL'S  SURRKNDKK.  — LOSS  OF 
MICHIGAN.  — OKNKRAL  CRAIG. —  CAPTURK  OF  THE  FRKiATK  (;UKR. 
RIKRE.— CAPTAIN  HULL.— GENERAL  VAN  RENSSELAER.— RATTLE  OF 
QUEENSTOVVN.— GENERAL  SMVTHE.— GENERAL  SCOTT.— MILITIA.— 
SMVTHE'S  FAILURE.— NORTHERN  ARMY.- GENERAL  DEARHORN,— 
COLONEL  DUANE.— E.;i)  OF  CAMPAIGN  OF  1812. 

My  Historical  Sketch  will  begin  with  the  first  session  of  the 
thirteenth  Congress,  May,  1S13,  when  I  took  my  seat;  that  I 
may  tell  only  what  I  had  occasion  to  know.  But  the  events  of 
1813,  '14,  and  '15  will  not  bo  so  intelligible  as  if  premised  by 
some  preliminary  account  of  those  of  IS  12.  The  first  chapter 
having  explained  the  causes  and  character  of  the  war,  this  chap- 
ter will  submit  an  outline  of  the  belligerent  operations  of  the 
six  months  of  the  first  year  after  its  declaration. 

To  conquer  Canada  was  the  promise  and  reliance  of  those 
who  made  war  against  orders  in  council  and  impressment. 
Nothing  could  be  done  by  sea,  as  was  supposed  ;  and  one  of  the 
embarrassments  of  the  advocates  of  war  was,  th.at  while  defen- 
sive against  maritime  aggressions,  it  mu.st  take  the  appearance 
and  bear  tlie  odium  of  being  aggressive,  for  foreign  conquest. 
This  false  position  was  especially  a  hindrance,  as  the  constituted 
authorities  and  majority  of  the  people  of  the  New  England 
st.ites  were  opposed  to  the  war,  and  denounced  the  invasion  of 
Canada  as  its  worst  direction  and  ell'ort.  lis  advantages  and 
disadvantages  were  then  fully  discussed;  expatiation  on  them 
now  since  the  design  came  to  nothing,  would  be  useless.  A 
more  important  historical  consideration  is,  whether  our  plan  of 
invasion  was  not  wrong;  beginning  with  blows  aimed  at  the 
branches  instead  of  striking  at  once  at  the  root  of  English  ter- 
ritorial and  naval  power  in  America. 

A  project  was  then  presented  by  a  very  young  American 
officer,  whose  name  will  occur  often  hereafter  in  connection  with 
the  most  brilliant  feats  of  arms.     A  project  was  presented  to 


} 


Sc 


g 

N 


th^ 
for 
an 


;  s 


:;j 


CHAP.  II.] 


HALIFAX    CAMPAIGN. 


75 


Eustis,  the  Secretary  of  War,  which  he  put  aside  with  the  rather 
contemptuous  remark,  that  it  was  a  very  pretty  plan.  It  pre- 
dicated the  enemy's  resistless  control  of  the  ocean  ;  and  the  proba- 
bility that  Napoleon's  gigantic  domination  by  land  was  tottering 
to  its  fall.  To  meet  Great  Britain's  superior  force,  then  triumph- 
ant everywhere,  the  United  States  had  but  the  skeletons  of  a  few 
regiments,  and  a  few  frigates.  The  American  sna-coast  would 
soon  be  entirely  blockaded,  while  our  land  operations  during  the 
fust  year  of  hostilities  must  be  left  chiefly  to  volunteers  and 
militia.  How  then  should  we  make  what  force  we  had  be 
most  effectually  felt  ?  Study  of  naval  power  shows  that  it  does 
not  depend  on  ships  but  on  seamen,  that  the  nurseries  of  seamen 
are  conmicrce  and  fisheries ;  the  naval  marine  depends  on  the 
conunercial.  In  both  the  United  States  are  second  only  to  Great 
Britain,  with  advantages  of  position  which  with  energetic  action 
would  enable  them  to  neutralize,  if  not  destroy  her  transatlantic 
ascendency.  France,  when  she  possessed  the  north-eastern 
coasts  of  America  and  adjacent  islands,  employing  thirty  thou- 
sand seamen  in  the  fisheries  and  the  trade  they  nourished,  was 
a  full  match  for  England  at  sea.  At  that  time  the  American  colo- 
nies fitted  out  an  expedition  which  besieged  and  took  Louisburg, 
on  cape  Breton,  finally  exchanged  for  Madras  at  the  peace  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle.  At  last,  however,  France  lost  those  posses- 
sions, and  with  them  the  trident  of  the  ocean  passed  into  the 
hands  of  Great  Britain.  North  American  territories  nnd  fish- 
eries are  the  main  pillar  of  Britisli  naval  power.  Wiih  Nova 
Scotia  and  cape  Breton  to  protect  the  Canadas,  command  New- 
foundland and  the  gulf  St.  Lawrence  fisheries,  Great  Britain 
is  an  insular  fortress  with  these  (and  numerous  other)  outworks 
from  which  to  project  ships  of  war,  like  missile  weapons,  upon 
the  wings  of  every  wind,  with  which  to  strike  any  quarter  of  the 
globe.  Hemp  and  ship  timber  for  her  navy  she  may  get  from  her 
North  American  colonies,  as  well  as  from  the  north  of  Europe  ; 
with  her  American  fisheries  and  possessions,  she  can  build,  man, 
equip,  rig,  arm,  and  refit  her  fleets  altogether  from  her  own 
means.  Bermuda  is  cnother  outwork,  by  means  of  which 
Mexico  is  controlled,  a  nation  that  never  can  be  naval.  While 
the  United  States  act  on  the  policy  of  not  interfering  with 
foreign  nations,  Great  Britain,  with  Halifax  in  the  North-East, 
and  Bermuda  in  the  South,  can  put  the  Mexicans,  the  Indians, 


■rv^i^- 


«<; 


1 


76 


HALIFAX    CAMPAIGN. 


[JUNE,  1812. 


■^'ill 


and  her  own  marine  in  positions  to  act  against  he  United 
States.  By  seizing  npon  Halifax,  the  transatlantic  uiculties  of 
Great  Britain  would  be  paralyzed;  an  entire  revolution  effected 
in  the  ccr.  nercial  and  naval  power  of  the  world.  Canada 
would  fa'l,  "f  course,  including  Quebec,  which,  during  six 
months,  on  :  be  cut  off  by  ice  from  all  European  assistance. 
Montreal,  York,  Kingston,  Maiden  would  also  fall,  of  course. 
The  Canadas  would  not  only  become  parts  of  the  United  Slates, 
but  the  empire  of  the  seas  would  be  transferred  from  old  Eng- 
land to  New  England.  Halifax  was  the  great  rendezvous  and 
principal  American  station,  with  its  large  and  excellent  port,  of 
British  naval  power.  To  wrest  it  from  lier  was  a  simple,  how- 
ever difficult  operation,  worthy  the  utmost  'exertions  of  the 
American  nation.  It  was  the  only  place  where  British  vessels 
could  be  sheltered  and  refitted  with  perfect  security,  despatch  and 
convenience. 

In  this  confidential  memoir  presented  to  the  Secretary  of  War, 
Eustis,  it  was  further  argued  tiiat  the  political  intiuence  of  begin- 
ning our  hostilities  by  an  expedition  against  Halifax,  striking  at 
the  root  instead  of  wasting  stretigth  in  beating  the  air  by  blows 
at  the  branches.  Maiden,  York,  Fort  George,  Kingston,  and 
Montreal,  miglit,  and  probably  would,  be  to  unite  all  parties  in 
the  United  States,  particularly  Massacliusetts,  Maine,  New 
Hampshire,  and  Vermont,  in  a  movement  to  depend  for  its  suc- 
cess mainly  on  their  efforts,  if  successful,  to  redound  ciiiefly  to 
their  advantage.  The  commercial.  Northern  and  Eastern,  parts 
of  the  Union  were  those  opposed  to  the  war,  and  to  Madison's 
administration.  Would  not  an  intelligent  and  sharp-sigiited 
population  perceive  in  this  movement,  motives  for  their  rallying 
to  the  standard  of  their  country,  enabling  government  to  unite 
and  employ  the  whole  moral  and  physical  capacity  of  the  nation 
in  the  prosecution  of  a  war,  the  justice  of  which  most  acknow- 
ledged? which  thus  directed  would  render  its  results  especially 
profitable  to  the  maritime  interests,  would  vastly  increase  their 
commerce,  and  give  a  territorial  counterpoise  ->  tlie  southern  pre- 
ponderance by  the  recent  admission  of  Louisiana  into  the  Union. 
Halifax,  with  its  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants,  was  not  as  difficult 
a  conquest  in  1812,  as  Louisburgh  in  1748,  when  the  people 
of  New  England  captured  that  well-armed  fortress  without 
English  co-operation. 


CHAP.  II.] 


HALIFAX     CAMPAIGN 


77 


\ 


As  a  militaiy  measure,  the  micro  movement  of  a  considerabli; 
coliunii  in  tliat  direction  must  draw  nearly  tlie  "/lioU;  British  force 
to  be  concentrated  tliere  tor  the  protection  of  Halifax;  thus  strip 
the  whole  coast  of  blockading  ships;  Qm^bec,  Montrui  i,  and  all 
other  places  in  both  Canadas  as  far  us  from  the  (irst  named  to 
Mackinaw,  of  all  but  a  few  troops,  and  leave  those  places  at  the 
mercy  of  our  troops.  If  we  took  Halifax,  a  deaiii  blow  was  struck 
at  British  American  power ;  as  a  diversion  or  demonstration,  the 
expedition  would  be  more  elfectual  tlian  any  one  or  more  we 
could  send  into  Upper  Canada. 

'J'his  project,  of  which  the  joregoing  is  a  faint  outline,  was  sug- 
gested, first,  to  Dr.  Eustis,  when  Secretary  of  War,  who  merely 
said  it  was  a  very  pretty  jjlau  ;  and  afterwards  to  his  successor 
in  that  department.  General  Armstrong,  through  Colonel  Dunne, 
but  none  of  them  relished  it  till  Mr.  Monroe  superseded  General 
Armstrojig  as  acting  Secretary  of  War.  Then  it  was  seriously 
contemplated,  and  would  |)robably  have  been  t"  e  plan  of  opera- 
tions for  the  campaign  of  iHl.'i,  but  for  the  peace  of  Ghent,  in 
December,  iMl  I.  In  the  proper  stage  of  these  liistorical  remem- 
brances it  will  be  n)ore  fully  explained.  At  tiiat  time  the  young 
ollicer  wh(j  suggesti.'d  ii.  employed  as  lieutenant-colonel  com- 
manding a  recruiting  rendezvous  at  Hartford,  in  Connecticut, 
when  the  convention  sat  llnre  with  clandestine  and  ominous  de- 
signs,aswas  a[)prehended,  hostile  to  the  union,  was  instructed  to 
ascertain  whether  even  northern  disadection  might  not  be  induced 
ij  unite  in  so  advantageous  an  undertaking  lor  New  England,  as 
the  transler  ol' British  niariilnie  and  commercial  wealth,  the  lislie- 
ries  and  (Janadas  to  New  England  preponderance  in  the  United 
States.  1  was  then  in  daily  communication  with  Mr.  Monroe 
at  Waiiiiington,  and  heard  from  him  of  this  movement.  The  otii- 
cer  to  whom  its  suggestion  was  conlided,  reported  favourably  of 
Its  reception  by  a  member  of  the  Hartford  Convention.  If  the 
government  would  give  assurances  of  a  settled  determination  to 
capture  Halifax,  and  hold  the  north-eastern  fisheries  for  the  East- 
ern states,  he  thought  that  all  New  England  would  embark  in  the 
undertaking.  We  can  take  Halifax,  said  he,  as  easily  as  we  took 
Louisburgh;  but  then,  if  we  do,  we  must  have  assurances  that  what 
we  take  is  not  to  be  surrendered  in  any  event.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  add  more  here  than  that  such  was  the  plan  of  the  campaign  of 
1 81 5,  prevented  bythepeaceof  December,  1814.  Its  results  would 


■^;^::v^•/:>• 


^'S^-H 


:;...:. u..ti 


'■  !;S'  .'1' 


■.' 


>'•:■-. 


I -J 


1         : 

\            ■■••1 

78 


IIALUAX    CAMPAIGN. 


iJUNii,  1812. 


have  depended  on  the  people  of  New  Ene;lan(l  and  the  fortune  of 
war.  But  \vc  liad  then  disciplined  armies  in  coiisideiiibl;."  numbers, 
experienced  .^ommandors,  having  confidiMico  id  ihomsi  Ivos,  enjoy- 
ing that  of  tijiMr  followers  and  of  the  coiintiy, .»  Secretary  of  'he 
Treaiuiry,  Dallas,  and  a  Sfcretary  of  W,it,  Motivoe,  who  wtu'd 
have  strained  overy  nerve  for  great  national  achievtitnents.  Si-.ce 
then  the  Briti.^h  toiniage  eu:ployed  ju  iheNoi'h  American  fish'-rics 
and  trade  has  qtsa  lrn|)led.  More  than  u  million  of  to!is  navigated 
by  seventy  thousand  seamen,  ;dl — trade, shippi'ig  and  seamen,  rou- 
stantly  increasing,  vtith  the  mnltij*Iying  population,  impro/emciits 
and  re-^uurces  of  iliu  British  American  Colonies.  British  bottoms, 
British  subjects,  British  manufact  ire;  v  Britislj  coioi.u'  stapios,  are 
the  transatlantic  outworks  of  thai  gn^at  European  fortress  in- 
trenched by  itisular  defences  in  front  of  the  old  world,  exercising 
injifrien^e  power  over  the  new.  Fully  appreciating  the  military 
iiuvantagfs  of  her  position,  Great  Tuitain  is  ever  on  the  alert  to 
uicrease  and  strengthen  them;  seizing  upon  every  spot  whicli 
may  be  rendered  available. 

When  we  come  to  the  naval  oper.iiions  of  the  war  of  \S\2, 
we  shall  see  that,  even  wiihout  an  army,  our  little  squadron,  if 
well  advised  and  directed,  might  liave  siuick  a  severe,  if  not  fatal 
blow,  at  English  American  power,  by  cou'/entrating  its  force  upon 
Halifax  as  soon  as  war  was  declared,  before  England  was  pre- 
pared '■'r  it.  Co-operating  with  a  land  expedition  moving  from 
Maine  on  that  place,  it  could  hardly  have  failed.  The  short- 
sighted schemes  of  government,  lukewarmness  in  the  executive, 
timidity  in  Congress,  the  unwarlike  spirit  of  free  institutions,  the 
lumerving  influences  of  protracted  peace,  the  fears  of  old  com- 
manders, the  force  of  circumstances,  ordered  it  otherwise.  Canada 
was  not  only  not  conquered,  but  not  even  injured.  The  English 
government  of  it,  civil  and  military,  nobly  defended  its  provinces. 
Our  efforts,  at  first,  miserable  failures,  were  at  last  only  martial 
exercises,  elementary  schools  in  the  art  of  war. 

Instead  of  striking  at  the  root  or  stump,  we  began  at  the  top- 
most branches;  tried  to  hurt  the  lion  in  the  tail,  as  General  Arm- 
strong objected,  when  animadverting  on  the  poor  difference  he 
took  between  attacking  Kingston  and  York,  or  Fort  George.  To 
conquer  Canada,  General  William  Hull  was  sent  from  his  govern- 
ment of  Michigan,  with  a  force  mostly  volunteer  and   militia, 


f.i 


Ai 
rcf 
Ca 


^ 


("HAP.  II.] 


MIC-1ILIMA(  INACK. 


(9 


!   1 


\', 


(  i 


; 


deemed  amply  siidirient,  as  numerically  it  was,  to  overcome 
British  resistance  in  Upper  Canada,  where  the  provincial  militia 
did  not  wish  to  fight  Americans,  if  left  to  their  choice,  and  the 
Indian  tribes  were  so  far  neutral  as  to  be  waiting  to  join  the 
strongest  side.  By  some  inexplicable  remissness,  the  enemy  got 
intelligence  in  Canada, at  Maiden  and  elsewhere,  ofonr  declaration 
of  war,  before  t  was  made  known  to  even  our  own  posts.  We 
liad  no  force  on  either  of  the  lakes  or  waters,  where  the  English 
reigned  in  niidispntod  supremacy.  On  the  17th  July,  1812,  the 
vital  post  of  Mackinaw,  on  the  island  of  M i-ihilimacinack,  at  the 
junction  of  Lakes  Huron  and  Michigan,  was  sm-prised  and  taken 
by  the  enemy,  almost  without  resistance.  Lieutenant  llancks, 
the  oHicer  in  command,  with  a  garrison  of  some  fifty  to  sixty 
regular  soldiers,  in  his  report  of  the  llh  of  August  to  General 
Hull,  giving  an  account  of  this  deplorable  first  blow  in  the  war, 
olficially  stated  that  the  summons  to  surrender  the  fort  was  the 
first  information  he  had  of  the  declaration  of  war.  With  such  a 
secretary,  post-ma.ster  gencnl,  commander,  and  oliier  olficers, 
was  the  confiict  bi'gun !  Captain  Roberts,  commanding  the 
JJritish  post  of  St.  Josephs,  a  vigilant  and  enterprising  olficer, 
whose  captnri;,  with  his  small  garrison,  should  have  been  our 
first  and  easy  blow, — instead  of  that,  was  allowed,  with  his  ina- 
dequate means,  to  plan  and  execute  the  surprize  of  Mackinaw. 
By  this  untoward  reverse  of  what  should  have  been  the  Ameri- 
can outset,  the  Governor-deneral  Prevost,  in  his  despatch  of  the 
2<)th  of  August,  1.S12,  to  th(!  Colonial  Secretary,  Earl  Bathurst, 
was  aiUhoiized  to  write  that  spirit  and  confidence  were  given  to 
the  Indian  tribes,  part  of  whom  assisted  in  the  capture  of  tlie 
American  fort,  and  they  were  determined  to  advance  upon  the 
rear  and  flanks  of  the  American  army  as  soon  as  it  entered 
Canada. 

The  island  of  Michilim;icinack,  (or  Mackinaw,  as  it  is  more 
commonly  called,)  is  situated  in  the  straits  between  Lake 
Michigan  and  Lake  Huron.  It  is  of  a  circular  form,  about  seven 
and  a-half  miles  in  circumference,  between  three  and  four  miles 
from  the  land  in  iIh;  nearest  point.  The  island  is  a  rock  of  lime- 
stone, covered  with  a  rough  and  hard  but  fertile  soil,  and,  origi- 
nally with  a  lieavy  growth  of  timber,  such  as  sugar-maple,  beech, 
birch,  basswood,  poplar,  hemlock,  cedar  and  spruce — elevated 
considerably  above  the  mainland  in  its  vicinity,  which  is  low. 


;■  ';'■-'■■;:' I! ' 


80 


MK  II  I  LIMACINACK. 


(ADOUST,  1812. 


!";*l 


tlat,;iiiil  swaiupy.  'I'lio  island  is  liiyliost  in  ilio  coiitre,  and  liand- 
Nomoly  crowning,  leistfniljliny,  as  yuii  appioacli  it  at  u  distance, 
a  liullc's  back — iVoni  wliioli  circumstance  it  is  said  to  have  de- 
rived its  name,  Michiiiinaoinaclc  or  the  Turtle. 

The  fort  wiiicli  stands  on  the  south-east  side,  was  handsomely 
situated  on  u  bluU'rock,  rising  iVoin  one  hundred  to  two  hundred 
f«!et  IVonitlie  water,alihost  j)er|)endicular  in  many  i)iaces, extend- 
mg  about  half  round  the  island.  It  overlooked,  and,  of  course, 
ronnuandeil  tlie  harbour,  a  boaiilil'ui  semicircular  basin  of  about 
one  mile  in  extent,  and  from  one  to  live  or  six  fathoms  in  depth, 
sheltered  from  Lake  Huron  by  two  islands  stretching  acros.s 
its  mouth,  and  leaving  only  a  narrow  ship  channel  by  which  to 
enter  the  harbour.  Front  the  fort  there  was  an  uninterru|»ted 
view  into  Lake  Huron  to  the  nortli-tast,  and  into  Lake  Michigan 
on  the  west,  entirely  connnandtd  by  the  hiyh  ground  in  its  rear, 
where  there  was  only  a  .stockade  defended  by  two  block  hou.ses, 
with  a  brass  six  pounder  in  each.  There  were  also  two  long 
nines  on  a  battery  in  front,  besides  two  howitzers,  and  a  brass 
three  pounder,  commanding  the  approach  to  the  Iront  gate;  ii 
Lood  bom!)  proof  magazine,  but  without  much  ammunition  or 
implements  of  war. 

It  was  from  the  I'ur  trade  thai  ihr  im|iortance  of  Michilimacinack 
resulted,  having  long  been  the  i;!;iiid  dej)ot  of  those  carrying  it 
on,  and  the  key  to  all  the  north- \vi  .stern  country.  Its  commercial 
importance  may  be  estimali;d  fro'ii  the  amount  of  goods  entered 
at  the  custom-house  there,  in  IfSO  I,  which,  mcluding  what  were 
lirought  direct  from  Montreal,  and  what  came  by  the  way  of  Xew 
York,  yielded  a  revenue  to  our  treasury  of  about  S(>0,()0(),  J^arge 
ipianiities  of  corn  and  sugar  raised  and  manufactured  by  the 
Indians  in  the  vicinity,  and  by  them  brought  to  market,  were 
sold  to  the  merchants,  lor  thi-  sU[)poit  of  those  engaged,  or  people 
employed  in  the  fur  trade. 

Hull  was  coiKjuered  at  Mackinaw :  if  not  before  his  march 
began,  heralded  by  pompous  and  threatening  proclamation.  The 
government  was  not  blameless  for  his  miserable  failure,  perhaps 
the  republic.  War  for  the  iirst  time  in  thirty  years;  a  presidential 
election  pending  when  it  was  declared  ;  Congress  fearful  of  their 
popularity;  the  executive,  much  of  it  lukewarm,  ii  not  averse  to 
hostilities ;  all  cherishing  more  hopes  of  peace  than  of  war ;  no  mi- 
litary genius,  habits  or  organization,  no  taxes,short  fuiiUB!, extreme 


3^ 


CHAP.  II.]         HULL'S    SURRKNDEU     AT    DETROIT. 


81 


and  culpable  inefficiency,  if  not  downright  negligence  in  the  first 
.steps  of  warfare,  were  ill-starred  premises  on  whiciian  unfortunate 
leader  might  lay  some  of  the  riiproaeh.  Hull's  vapouring  pro- 
clamation only  provoked  General  Hrock,  the  British  commander, 
to  confront  him;  brave,  indefatigable,  active,  energetic,  abounding 
in  qualifications,  all  of  which  Hull,  if  he  ever  had,  was  without 
from  the  moment  he  heard  of  the  fall  of  Mackinaw,  the  gathering 
of  the  Indian  clans,  and  the  elfect  of  all  these  things  on  the  English 
militia.  His  stores  and  dispatches  and  baggage  were  captured 
in  a  boat.  Of  two  detachments  he  sent  out,  one  under  Major 
Vanhorne,  was  cut  to  pieces  by  Tecnmseh;  the  other  under 
Colonel  Miller,  though  successful  in  d(!fi.'ating  an  English  attack, 
gained,  poor  Hull  wrote  to  the  secretary,  nothing  but  hor)onr, 
and  that  at  the  cost  of  seventy-five  lives  lost !  Familiarized  with 
Indian  brutalities,  Hull  too  well  knew  what  he  had  to  fear  from 
this  always  the  most  formidable  and  destructive  wing  of  the 
English  army.  Finding  the  savages  more  hostile,  the  Canadian 
militia  less  favourable,  than  he  expected,  Mackinaw  gone,  his 
fianks  in  danger,  his  rear  not  open  lor  supplies  to  be  brought  on 
pack  horses  200  miles  through  a  wilderness  of  trackless  swamps; 
on  the  7th  of  August  he  began  his  retreat,  benumbed  with  terror, 
recrossed  from  (Canada  to  Michigan,  and  there  quailed  at  Detroit 
till  the  15th  of  that  month,  the  day  of  his  ignominious  surrender. 
Hemmed  in  on  every  side,  cut  oft"  from  all  resource,  his  force 
wasting  with  disappoiiiii/ient,and  disease,  and  death  ;  he  was  not 
the  man  lor  an  emergency  requiring  the  best  courage  and  fortitude. 
A  man  of  another  mould,  full  of  resolution  and  resource,  might 
have  triumphed  over  the  lime-serving  negligence  of  his  own 
government  and  the  bold  resistance  of  an  enemy  who  could  not 
fail  to  perceive  that  he  had  a  feeble  and  dismayed  antagonist  to 
deal  with.  The  American  general  was  ripe  for  abject  submission 
when  Brock  became  the  assailant;  crossing  the  straits  from 
Sandwich  to  Detroit  with  some  twelve  hundred  men,  the  Indians 
led  by  their  brave  and  skillful  chieftain,  the  gallant  and  generous 
Tecumseh,  mtich  more  gallant  and  humane  than  many  of  the 
English  commandtis.  On  the  1.5th  of  August,  Hull  put  into 
articles  of  cajiiiulatioi'  all  he  could  surrender,  without  striking  a 
blow  or  showing  a  sign  but  of  extreme  trepidation.  No  council 
of  war  was  held  on  this,  the  only  occasion  during  the  war,  when 


'i-*' 


•vfc:>..^ 


■•;.■■>«-■ 


82 


HULL'S    SIJRRKNDKR    AT     DKTROIT.      [AUG.,  1812. 


the  commanding  general  would  have  been  outvoted  by  all  his 
olliccrs. 

All  Hull's  ollicers  were  indignant  at  his  surrender.  Colonel 
Lewis  Cass,  ;it  Washington,  in  September,  1813,  in  a  letter  pub- 
lished to  the  Secretary  of  War,  averred  that  Maiden  might  <  'sily 
have  been  taken  if  attacked  when  Hull  first  entered  Canada. 
'I'he  Canadian  militia  disliked  the  British  service  and  deserted 
by  lumdreds,  whilr  our  troops  were  in  excellent  ordiir  and  liigh 
ardour;  but  contrary  to  the  unanimous  wish  of  his  oflicers,  Hull 
evacuated  his  camp  by  night,  when  there  was  not  even  the 
shadow  of  an  enemy  to  injure  us  ;  abandoning  the  well  disposed 
Canadian  militia  to  Eimlisli  vengeance  and  control.  In  the  last 
resort  the  o/licers  resolved  on  incurring  the  responsibility  of  divest- 
ing the  general  of  the  command  ;  and  liis  deposal  was  prevented 
merely  by  two  of  the  commanding  ollicers  of  regiments  being 
ordered  on  detachments.  When  Urock  crossed  the  strait  to  attack 
Detroit,  his  whole  force,  while,  red  and  black,  was  but  1030,  and 
ours  present  lit  for  duty  1350;  the  superiority  of  our  position  was 
apparent,  and  our  troops  awaited  the  enemy  in  the  eager  expect- 
ation of  victory.  The  fourth  regiment  was  in  the  fort,  the  Ohio 
volunteers  and  part  of  the  Michigan  militia  behind  pickets  in  a 
situation  in  which  the  whole  flank  of  the  enemy  would  have  been 
exposed;  the  rest  of  the  Michigan  militia  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
town  to  resist  the  incursions  of  the  savages.  Two  twenty-four 
pounders  loaded  with  grape  shot  were  posted  on  a  commanding 
eminence,  ready  lo  sweep  the  advancing  column.  Not  a  sign  of 
discontent,  not  a  look-  of  cowardice  ;  every  man  expected  a  proud 
day  for  his  country,  ach  anxious  that  his  individual  exertion 
should  contribute  to  the  general  result.  When  the  head  of  the 
enemy's  coUunn  arrived  within  about  500  yards  of  our  lines,  orders 
were  received  from  General  Hull  for  the  whole  to  retreat  to  the 
fort,  and  for  the  twenty-four  pounders  not  to  fire  on  the  enemy. 
One  universal  burst  of  indignation  appeared  upon  this  order. 
Shortly  alter  a  white  Hag  was  hung  out  upon  the  walls.  A  Bri- 
tish oliicer  rode  up  to  inquire  the  cause.  A  communication  took 
place  between  the  commanding  generals,  which  ended  in  capitu- 
lation. Hull  consulted  none  of  his  officers,  took  counsel  of  his 
own  feelings  only.  Not  one  anticipated  surrender.  Even  the 
■women  were  indignant  at  the  shameful  degradation.  At  ten 
o'clock  next  day  the  detachment  of  350  men  from  M' Arthur's 


CHAP.  II. 1 


HI   LI    S    .SUURKNDKR. 


83 


and  (lass'  rcgimcnls  sent  the  clay  beCoro  to  tlio  rivor  Uaisin  arrived 
witliin  Slight  of  Di-troit  on  tlit-ir  rcrurn.  ('olonols  M'Artluir, 
Findl(!y,  Cas.s  and  Miller  all  declared  that  nothing  could  justify 
so  dishonourable  and  unjustifiable  a  capitulation,  which  was  also 
the  universal  sentitnent  atnont?  the  troops. 

Yet  the  issue  niiaht  not  have  been  what  Colonel  Cass  so  con- 
(idonlly  hoped.  Among  all  the  vicissitudes  ol'  life  nothing  is  so 
capricious  as  what  lias  conic  to  be  called  the  fortune  of  war. 
In  an  unpublislunl  letter  from  an  Anufricaii  in  London,  dated 
December,  IT.'Jf*,  giving  an  account  of  one  of  Chatham's  s[)eeches 
in  Parliament,  that  extraordinary  author  of  the  war  and  colonial 
policy  of  Great  Jiritain  is  stated  to  have  borne  the  testimony 
of  his  experience  to  the  terrible  uncertainty  of  military  affairs 
above  all  others.  "The  events  of  war,"  said  he,  "depend  on 
wliat  the  world  calls  chance;  a  conjunction  of  incidents  which 
short-sighted  man  cannot  foresee  or  provide  for.  It  is  uncertain 
whether  the  day  shall  end  with  acclamations  of  joy,  or  the  war 
ministers  sacrificed  to  the  fury  of  an  enraged  multitude  for  some 
disaster  in  the  system  which  the  world  is  always  ready  to  impute 
to  want  of  ability  or  fidelity  in  those  who  execute  it."  Hull, 
however,  was  lamentably  false,  at  any  rate,  to  one  cardinal  prin- 
ciple of  military  affairs,  which  Chatham,  as  a  war  minister,  never 
neglected;  to  be  bold,  to  trust  fortune,  to  woo  that  capricious 
tutelary  deity  of  hostilities  by  seizing,  almost  ravishing,  her 
favours.  In  the  several  unsuccessful  campaigns  it  cost  Chatham 
to  conquer  Canada  from  the  French,  he  never  was  wanting  in 
that  boldness  which  is  as  essential  as  bravery  to  success  in  most 
things,  in  military  more  than  any  other.  In  the  almost  con- 
tinual failiu-es  of  the  Amevican  arms  in  Canada  throughout  the 
years  1812  and  1813  boldness  was  the  great  need  of  every  com- 
mander, want  of  it  the  infirmity  which  degraded  them  all.  In 
the  tonrnainents,  as  they  may  be  considered,  (lie  isolated  and 
irregular  jousts  of  181 1,  when  the  bravest  and  best  troops  of 
Great  Britain  were  beat  in  every  encounter,  boldness  or  audacity 
was  the  American  virtue  which  gained  the  day.  Owing  to  the 
radical  error  of  our  plan  of  operations,  and  the  failure  to  accom- 
plish even  the  mistaken  attempt  of  tlie  two  first  years,  the  British 
were  reinforced  in  the  third  by  numbers  which  deprived  our 
forces  of  the  power  of  conquest,  and  limited  their  invasion  to 
the  places  where  it  began.     Still  the  effect  of  bold  attacks  was 


H4 


CONQI KST     OK     CANADA 


[A(J(f.,  1813 


•'xcollciit.  Wiilioiit  i'()ii(|Uoriiii!:  ('aiiada  (Iu3y  poiiqucrod  iho  Kng- 
lisli  llific,  ami  yrcally  c(jiitril)ijU!(l  not  only  to  |)caou,  but  tlio 
salisfiictory  iliiraiioii  ol"  it.  Discipline  in(Ji;t;d  was  ilion  an  Ame- 
rican viiuu!,  as  well  as  Ijoldncss.  Wiilinut  tlio  retrieving  of  our 
lorlnncs  which  the  tliinl  year  ol"  war  aHonled  to  remove  the  de- 
'^radation  ol  the  lirst  and  second  years,  a  history  ol'  it  would  be 
a  sad  task  lor  any  American.  Fortunately  it  ended  well.  The 
•  lid  crowned  Ihe  work,  and  the  crown  was  made  of  iiilrepidily. 

Treason,  as  well  as  cowardice  wore  iirpnled  to  General  Hull, 
lie  was  tried  by  court  martial,  convicted  ol  cowardice,  and  sen- 
tenced to  be  shot,  but  ricommeiided  to  mercy.  Hull  was  pardoned 
i»y  the  president,  dismissed  iVom  the  army,  ami  sull*  red  to  live  ; 
die  only  convicied,  by  no  means  the  only  discredited  American 
commander  toiled  In  attempts  to  invade  a  feeble  province,  with 
a  small  margin  ol' population,  abniij;  the  edge  of  the  waters  divid- 
ing that  country  I'rom  this;  that  po[)ulatiou  even  not  well  dis- 
posed to  Knglisli  authority,  and  thickly  sprinkled  with  natives  of 
the  United  States.  Panic  unnerves  the  stoutest  lieart.s.  Malta 
and  Ulm  were  surrendered  to  the  French,  a  French  army  at 
Uaylen  to  the  Spanish,  not  long  before  Hull  ingloriously  laid 
down  his  arms,  when  there  was  as  little  need  of  it,  by  like  iu- 
latuatioii. 

Thus  ill  that  region  our  vision  of  Canadian  coiupiest  vanished. 
The  whole  west,  the  frontiers  of  Ohio,  Feiinsylvania,  Kentucky, 
Virginia,  principal  war  states,  were  laid  bare  to  English  and  lu- 
tlian  invasion,  subjected  to  continual  alarms  and  expenses. — 
Instead  ol'coiuiucring  Canada  as  far  at  least  as  the  Falls  of  Nia- 
i^ara,  we  were  as  much  disappointed,  discoucerteil,  and  aston- 
ished, as  if  that  cascade  had  changed  its  current,  and  been  thrown 
from  Lake  Ontario  to  Lake  Erie  upwards,  by  earthquakes  or 
other  convulsive  phenomenon.  Such  was  the;  revulsion  in  my 
feelings  from  overweening  confidence  to  utter  amazement.  I 
l)egan  to  fear  that  war  was  to  ruin  us, — felt  as  if  we  were  all 
])risoners  of  war.  Shame  was  the  garb  of  the  war's  supporters, 
joy  that  of  its  opponents,  with  most  of  whom  in  Congress,  the 
press,  and  every  where  a  favourite  position  was  the  injustice 
and  madness  of  foreign  war,  war  of  coiujuest,  war  on  Canada, 
war,  however,  where  only  could  we  carry  it  with  any  chance  of 
success,  instead,  as  its  opponents  contended,  of  confining  our 
efforts  to  the  seas,  where  all  parties  believed  we  had  no  chance 


CHAP.  II.l 


OENERAL    THOMAS    CRAIO. 


85 


i 


at  all.  Such  was  the  argument  of  disafTcction.  It  was  right,  said 
the  disatFectod,  at  all  events,  to  withhold  supplies  from  war  of 
conquest,  war  on  Canada;  militia  had  a  right  to  refuse  to  go 
there;  capitalists  to  withhold  loans  of  money.  The  etlbcts  of 
Hull's  surrender  were  terrible.  Ho  who  as  a  subordinate  officer, 
had  established  character  for  courage  and  fortitude,  when  young, 
by  deplorable  infirmity  when  promoted  to  command,  afllicted  his 
country  with  discouragement  which  might  have  been  fatal,  but 
for  relief  where  no  one  looked  for  it.  Tfiey  who  expect  election 
returns  or  foreign  news  with  anxious  anticipation,  may  form  some 
faint  idea  of  the  incredulous  alternation  of  fear  and  hope,  which 
awaits  war  tidings  in  a  country  unused  to  war.  When  the  Hes- 
sians taken  by  Washington  at  Trenton,  were  marched  as  pri- 
soners of  war  into  Philadelphia,  the  torics  would  not  believe 
what  they  saw,  but  persisted  that  there  must  bo  some  mistake  oi 
delusion  about  it. 

My  first  doubt  or  uneasiness  was  the  suggestion  of  an  old  sol- 
dier, whose  residence  I  sometimes  visited  in  the  summer  season. 
This  gentleman  raised  a  full  company  of  a  hundred  hardy  moun- 
taineers, at  the  first  outbreak  of  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and 
marched  them,  before  even  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
through  the  trackless  wilds  of  northern  winter,  to  join  Montgo- 
mery, whose  army  he  did  not  reach  till  the  day  after  his  defeat 
and  death,  before  Quebec.  From  that  time  throughout  the  war, 
he  was  everywhere,  as  the  hardest  service  called,  from  Long 
Island  to  Georgia,  conspicuous  in  every  battle,  at  Long  Island, 
in  Jersey,  Brandywine,  Germantown,  Monmouth,  Yorktown, 
closing  seven  years  of  constant  and  arduous,  yet  to  him  always 
cheerful  and  pleasant  campaigning,  at  the  last  action  of  the  war, 
the  siege  of  Savannah :  from  Quebec  to  Savannah,  never  off 
duty,  foremost  in  all  encounters ;  a  soldier  in  every  qualification. 
To  robust  frame,  insensible  of  fatigue,  he  joined  an  intrepid, 
though  fiery  temper ;  and  was  regularly  bred  to  arms ;  a  man  of 
good  education,  good  manners,  gentle  when  not  excited,  but  then 
fierce  and  dangerous.  At  the  peace  of  1783,  disbanded  with 
only  continental  money  at  a  discount  of  five  hundred  for  one  as 
his  pay,  he  returned  home  ;  and  having  the  misfortune  to  be  in- 
volved in  a  tavern  fray,  in  which  he  was  charged  with  a  homi- 
cide, he  withdrew  far  into  the  interior,  as  it  then  was,  behind 
the  hills  of  his  native  county  in  Pennsylvania,  where  he  lived 

VOL.  I. — 8 


■    ■;■■    IV':  „ 


IM 


\ 


86 


GENERAL    THOMAS    CRAIG, 


[SEPT.  1812. 


many  years  in  total,  hospitable,  anJ  polite  retirement,  from  the 
world,  visited  by  only  a  few  friends,  but  holding  the  commission 
of  major-general  in  the  militia.     My  friend  Mr.  Richard  Rush, 
who  as  comptroller  of  the  Treasury,  though  not  then,  as  he  after- 
wards became,  a  minister  of  Madison's  cabinet,  was  much  con- 
sulted by  him,  enjoyed  his  entire  confidence,  and  that  of  Mr.  Mon- 
roe.— Mr.  Rush  and  I  got  Mr.  Madison  to  nominate  the  old  soldier 
to  whose  memory  this  passing  tribute  is  devoted,  without  his  know- 
ledge, as  a  brigadier-general  in  the  regular  army  in  1812;  ad- 
vanced in  years  as  he  was,  he  would  have  done  honour  to  the 
station.     He  rose  from  a  captain  by  regular  gradation,  to  be  col- 
onel of  a  regiment  in  the  continental  army.     Unluckily  one  of 
his  old  associates  then,  who  knew  the  fierceness  of  his  temper, 
and  feared  the  harshness  of  his  discipline,  made  objections  to 
conferring  a  brigade  on  him,  and  the  president  was  prevailed 
upon  to  withdraw  the  nomination,  for  fear  of  its  rejection,  then 
too  common  an  occurrence  in  that  discontented  conclave.     Gene- 
ral Thomas  Craig  was  of  the  Gates,  or  anti- Washington  party 
of  the  army  of  the  Revolution ;  as  such,  and  as  a  man  of  high,  un- 
compromising temper,  had  enemies,  but  fought  his  way  through 
all  grades  from  captaincy,  with  which  he  entered  the  army,  to 
the  command  of  a  regiment,  which,  therefore,  according  to  the 
established  regulation,  entitled  him  to  the  nominal  rank  of  gene- 
ral, when  he  left  it  at  the  peace  of  1783.    To  the  last  of  his  pro- 
tracted life,  which  lasted  till  he  was  nearly  a  hundred  years  old, 
he  persevered  in  two  sentiments,  which  in  this  country  of  reli- 
gious and  political  freedom,  however  uncongenial  with  those  of 
most  persons,  no  one  can  deny  his  riglit  to.     One  was  disrespect 
to  Washington,  whose  talents  and  military  capacity  he  always 
and  utterly  denied  with  unappeasable  aversion :  the  other  was 
denial  of  the  divinity  of  the  author  of  the  Christian  religion. 
Since  Washington's  fortunate  death  and  canonization,  General 
Craig's  infidelity  to  him  has  found  fewer  sympathies  probably  in 
Europe  or  America,  than  the  deism  which  great  numbers  share 
with  him,  in  whose  list  many  place  Penn,  Franklin,  Jefferson, 
John  Adams,  and  Madison. — Indeed,  Washington's  opinions,  a 
sincerely  pious  man,  on  that  subject  have  never  been  ascertained. 
At  General  Craig's  picturesque  residence,  trout  fishing,pheasant 
shooting,  and  deer  hunting,  were  amoiy;  the  sports  of  a  welcome, 
always  warmly  hospitable  and  highly  interesting  from  his  inti- 


; 


4 


th 


CHAP.  II.] 


GENERAL    THOMAS    CRAIG. 


87 


1 


■i 


I 


i 


;; 


i 


% 


mate  and  peculiar  views  of  the  events,  and  noUbilities  of  the  army 
of  the  Revohition.  He  spoke  with  enthusiasm  of  Colonel  Burr ; 
said  that  when  arrested  for  treason,  he  would  have  cheerfully 
gone  to  Richmond  to  attend  his  trial,  Oi  do  any  thing  he  could 
for  his  vindication.  He  had  the  same  admiration  too  of  General 
Hamilton,  but  as  strong  a  dislike  to  some  of  the  prominent  officers 
of  the  Revolution.  General  Craig  had  experience  of  Indian  war- 
fare', and  much  familiarity  with  their  habits;  has  shown  me  great 
numbers  of  the  pointed  stone  heads  to  their  arrows  which  were 
scattered  over  the  hills  and  in  the  rivulets  of  his  extensive  estates ; 
had  learned  from  them  to  tell  with  amazing  certainty  from  the 
twist  of  a  bough,  the  turn  of  a  leaf,  or  even  the  position  of  a  peb- 
ble in  a  run  of  water,  whether  a  man  had  passed  that  way,  whe- 
ther on  foot  or  on  horseback,  alone  or  with  others.  This  re- 
markable specimen  of  the  giants  of  the  Revolution,  lived  till 
ninety-five  years  old,  and  died  a  soldier  to  the  last,  directing  that 
he  should  be  buried,  with  military  honours,  volleys  of  musketry 
fired  over  his  grave,  and  the  other  customary  ceremonies  of  mar- 
tial parade  on  such  occasions.  Some  years  before  his  death,  he 
received  the  provision  made  by  Congress  for  the  oflicers  and  sol- 
diers of  the  Revolution,  not,  however,  without  repugnance  to 
subscribing  to  some  of  the  terms  prescribed,  which  he  considered 
humiliating.  His  retired  residence  has  long  since  been  spoiled 
of  its  natural  beauties  and  attractions  by  collieries,  canals,  and 
railroads :  anthracite  coal,  of  which,  when  I  was  there,  no  concep- 
tion had  been  formed,  has  invited  miners  into  the  hills,  and  crowds 
the  streams  with  busy  boatmen. 

It  was  from  this  veteran  soldier,  meeting  him  at  the  chief  town 
of  his  county,  that  I  heard  with  incredulous  annoyance  the  first 
doubts  of  Hull's  success.  I  had  no  doubt  that  he  was  in  full  and 
triumphant  march  from  Maiden  to  Qiieenstown.  General  Craig 
expressed  his  apprehensions  of  the  reverse.  He  knew  the  ditfictil- 
ties,  the  chances,  the  obstacles  in  the  way ;  had  attentively  read 
all  the  newspaper  accounts  of  the  expedition ;  could  estimate  the 
proba'^ilities  of  Indian  enmity ;  had  experienced  the  force  of 
English  armies;  shook  his  head  at  my  confidence,  and  cautioned 
me  not  to  be  too  sanguine.  Not  from  any  disparagement  of 
Hull,  but  from  the  inherent  mishaps  of  military  proceedings,  the 
fortune  of  war,  this  Nestor  of  another  war  questioned  the  suc- 
cess of  our  outset,  and  disturbed  my  dreams  of  triumph.  Our 
three  frigates  gone  to  sea  were  given  up  to  the  mighty  maritime 


'■',■1  • 


■u^^^f] 


i*?.' 


■■■/■:'' '.'^ 


'(  '  k 


88         CAPTURE    OF    THE    FRIGATE    GUERRIERE.     [AUG.  1812. 

enemy.  Riit  in  Canada  where  our  superiority  of  force  was  un- 
<[uestiunable,  General  Craig  could  not  prevail  on  me  to  harbour  so 
unpatriotic,  so  unpopular,  so  unworthy  an  apprehension  as  the 
possibility  of  reverse.  We  were  to  make  amends  for  distress  at 
sea  by  sweeping  triumphs  ashore.  It  was  in  this  mood  I  was 
stunned  by  tidings  of  Hull'^  surrender.  Its  disappointment,  dis- 
grace, desj)ondency  and  mortification  were  blessedly  counteracted 
by  the  capture  of  the  Guerriere  frigate  by  the  other  Hull,  of  which 
'he  news  came  just  in  time  to  be  providential  relief,  saving  our 
cause,  the  union  and  country  from  perhaps  disruption,  certainly 
ooiisequencos  the  most  lamentable.  General  Hull  surrendered 
the  1.5th  of  August,  Napoleon's  birth-day.  Captain  Hull  took 
ihe  liritish  frigate  which  vauntingly  challenged  combat,  on  the 
1 9th  of  August.  Intelligence  of  these  contiicting  events  met 
together  as  our  northern  blasts  and  southern  breezes  contend, 
when,  after  vernal  prevalence  of  wintry  weather,  balmy  refresh- 
ment of  temperature  succeeds.  All  was  not  lost  with  the  little 
army  and  vast  territories  abdicated.  There  was  a  rainbow  over 
the  ocean  for  whose  freedom  the  war  was  persisted  in  after  re- 
peal of  the  orders  in  council,  for  the  unmolested  enjoyments  of 
whose  peaceable  intercourse  we  encountered  all  the  fearful  odds 
of  the  contest.  A  stream  of  transcendent  successes  by  sea,  wh'ch 
Great  Britain  could  neither  turn  nor  explain,  set  in,  revived,  con- 
soled and  upheld  that  maritime  and  commercial  portion  of  the 
United  States  where  support  of  the  war  was  weakest  and  oppo- 
sition to  it  most  revolting.  Not  only  public  ships,  but  privateers 
struck  terror  into  the  English  marine,  commerciiil  and  naval ;  re- 
newed the  coast  alarms  which  Paul  Jones  excited  in  the  Revolu- 
tion; annoyed  the  channel  trade,  increased  the  rates  of  insurance; 
even  without  the  conquest  of  Canada,  maintained  Madison's  ad- 
ministration in  authority,  secured  his  re-eleciion,  and  enabled 
(Jongress  to  meet  in  the  ensuing  spring  with  majorities  and  re- 
solution to  prosecute  war  as  the  only  way  to  peace. 

General  Hull's  vindication  submitted  by  his  letter,  dated  De- 
troit, the  26th  of  August,  LSI 2,  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  pleaded 
the  loss  of  Mackinaw,  and  thereby  the  unexpected  hostility  of 
all  the  Indian  tribes,  headed  by  'J'ecumseh,  Marpot,  Logan, 
Walk-in-the-Water,  Split-log,  &c.,  the  privation  of  all  water  power 
by  which  his  communication  with  the  place  of  his  supplies  be- 
came only  land-carriage,  on  pack-liorses,  through  a  wilderness  of 
two  hundred  miles,only  800  troopsat  Detriot  when  he  surrendered, 


mar 
pidi 
of 
177 
not 
A 
torici 
tions 
just 
tion, 
fion. 
.-■ury 
mart 
conv 


CHAP.  II.] 


GENERAL    HULL'S    TRIAL. 


89 


d 

h 
r 

e- 
of 


owing  to  detachments  sent  away  under  Colonels  M'Arthur  and 
Cass,  many  sick,  and  all  dispirited,  the  fort  filled  with  women, 
children  and  aged  persons,  (among  whom,  I  believe,  though  not 
mentioned  by  him,  were  several  ladies  of  his  own  family,)  the 
place  open  and  exposed,  effectually  battered  by  the  enemies  can- 
non, no  alternative  but  to  stand  an  assault  thus  situated,  or  to 
take  the  field  and  fight  with  a  force  inferior  to  either  the  British 
or  Indians,  much  inferior  to  them  both  combined  ;  powder  and 
provisions  nearly  exhausted,  Indians  without  number  and  with- 
out remorse,  the  spectres  continually  haunting  his  fancy  and  fo- 
menting his  fears.  He  assumed  the  whole  responsibility  of  the 
surrender.  The  brave  officers,  he  said,  and  men  he  commanded 
would  have  fought  till  their  last  cartridge  was  exhausted,  and 
every  bayonet  worn  to  the  socket.  There  was  at  least,  magnani- 
mity in  this  confession,  however  weak  the  argument. 

The  most  decisive  testimonial  against  Hull  was  Brock's  letter  to 
Prevost,  written  at  the  moment  of  his  incredible  success,  dated 
Detroit,  16th  of  August,  1812,  a  miniature  but  pregnant  volume 
of  proof  that  Hull  was  panic-struck.  "  I  hasten  to  apprize  your 
excellency  of  the  capture  of  this  very  important  post.  2500  troops 
have  tliis  day  surrendered  prisoners  of  war,  and  about  twenty-five 
pieces  of  ordnance  have  been  taken  without  the  sacrifice  of  a  drop 
of  British  blood.  I  had  not  more  than  600  troops  including  militia, 
and  about  600  Indians  to  accomplish  this  service.  When  I  detail 
my  good  fortune  your  excellency  will  be  astonished."  At  Sin- 
okiir's  retreat  from  Ticonderoga,  Hii',-^.  cool  courage  was  re- 
markable ;  at  Wayne's  storming  of  Su  ny  Point  his  ardent  intre- 
pidity was  signalized.  Age  and  thoughi  had  changed  the  ardour 
of  twenty  into  feeble  anxiety  near  the  grand  climacteric.  In 
1777,  he  would  have  fought  or  lied  without  care  ;  in  1812,  with 
not  much  of  life  left,  he  was  i'oarful  of  losing  that  little. 

A  feature  in  the  proceedings  against  Hull,  which  merits  his- 
torical mention  as  part  of  the  philosophy  of  American  institu- 
tions, is  the  connection  with  them  of  an  eminent  personage,  then 
just  beginning,  by  a  wise  and  successful  course  of  public  promo- 
tion, his  advancement  from  humble  outset  to  the  highest  eleva- 
tion. Alexander  James  Dallas,  who  was  Secretory  of  the  Trea- 
sury next  year,  was  appointed  Judge  Advocate  of  the  court 
martial  convoked  to  try  General  Hull.  Mr.  Dallas,  not  finding  it 
convenient  to  attend  the  court,  Mr.  Martin  Van  Buren  was 

8* 


!if 


BATTLE    OF    QUEENSTOWN. 


[OCT.  1812, 


substituted  for  him,  and  performed  the  duty.  Soon  after,  when 
General  Wilkinson  was  tried  by  court  martial,  Mr.  Van  Buren 
was  again  appointed  special  judge  advocate  for  that  court. 
General  Wilkin;son  objected  to  any  special  judge  advocate,  and 
presented  his  objection  to  the  court,  who  sustained  it,  and  re- 
jected Mr.  Van  Buren.  These  were  among  the  first  steps  of  a 
statesman,  soon  raised  to  be  Senator  of  the  United  States,  Go- 
vernor of  New  York,  Secretary  of  State  of  the  U.  States,  then 
Minister  to  England,  Vice-President  and  President,  in  rapid  suc- 
cession of  advancement ;  superseded  at  last  in  the  chief  magis- 
tracy by  one  of  the  distinguished  officers  of  the  war  of  1812, 
General  Harrison,  after  succeeding  another  in  that  station.  Gene- 
ral Jackson.  Mr.  Van  Buren  is  now  one  of  the  influential  digni- 
taries of  the  country,  enjoying  much  of  its  confidence  and  respect, 
after  enjoying  most  of  its  honours. 

Every  proper  spirit  engaged  in  prosecuting  the  war  was  roused 
by  Hull's  disgrace  to  exertion  to  I'lake  amends  for  it.     In  this 
generous  ardour  the  commander  of  the  forces  on  the  Niagara 
frontier  made  a  brave  and  not  in  udicious  attempt  to  prevent  the 
first  year  of  the  war  from  closin>5  s   disgracefully;  which  attempt, 
however,  while  it  did  hoi\our  to  t.  e  courage  of  American  soldiory, 
added  little  to  our  military  assurance,  and  exposed  the  militia, 
some  of  them  at  least,  to  contempt  and  degradation.    The  gen- 
tleman in  command  on  that  frontier  was  General  Stephen  Van 
Rensselaer,  of  the  New  York  militia,  of  amiable  manners,  exce' 
lent  character  and  disposition,  large  fortune,  and  laudably  emi> 
lous  of  distinction;  but  with  energy  unequal  to  his  difficult  tn-jk. 
"  The  national  character,"  he  v/rote  to  the  commander-in-chief, 
General  Dearborn,  in  October,  1812,  "is  degraded,  and  the  dis- 
grace will  remain  corroding  the  public  feeling  and  spirit,  until 
another  campaign,  unless  it  be  instantly  wiped  away  by  a  bril- 
liant exploit  of  this."  Accordingly,  General  Van  Rensselaer  deter- 
mined wisely,  on  military  as  well  as  politic  considerations,  to  cross 
the  Niagara  into  Canada,  storm  the  British  entrenchments  on 
Quecnstown  heights,  where  they  had  but  a  small  force,  wipe  away 
as  he  said,  part  of  the  score  of  our  disgrace,  get  excellent  bar- 
racks and  winter  quarters,  and  at  least  be  prepared  for  another 
campaign  next  year.    The  season  was  far  advanced,  middle  of 
October,  the  weather  wet,  stormy  and  unfavourable,  the  stream 
though  narrow,  rapid,  and  a  sheet  of  eddies,  the  means  of  trans- 
port few,  nor  under  good  order. 


4 


, 


1 


:        U 


CHAP.  IL] 


BATTLE    OF    QUEENSTOWN. 


91 


.1 


General  Alexander  Smythe  commanded  at  Bi-fTalo,  only  a  few 
miles  from  General  Van  Rensselaer,  1500  men  of  the  regular 
army;  but  as  I  was  informed  by  a  high'y  respectable  officer  of 
that  army  still  living,  was  not  invited  to  take  part  in  the  projected 
descent  upon  Canada  and  battle  of  Queonstown,  lest  the  glory  of 
the  day  should  be  taken  from  General  Van  Rensselaer's  cousin, 
Colonel  Solomon  Vai.>  Rensselaer,  an  officer  in  the  militia,  both  the 
Van  Rensselaers  being  perhaps  laudably,  though,  as  it  turned  out 
unfortunately,  bent  on  monopolizing  the  credit  of  this  affair  for 
the  militia,  if  not  exclusively,  at  any  rate  in  preference  to  the 
regular  army.  The  jealousy  of  corps  is  as  common  as  that  of 
individuals.  Invidious  feelings  mostly  prevail  between  regular 
troops,  volunteers  ana  militia,  army  and  navy,  and  as  will  pre- 
i  :Uly  appear,  the  failure  of  the  most  extensive  and  formidable 
expedition  undertaken  during  the  war  of  1812,  is  more  ascribable 
to  the  implacable  jealousy  of  the  two  commanders  Wilkinson 
and  Hampton  of  each  other,  than  to  any  other  cause.  Solomon 
Van  Rensselaer,  then  adjutant-general  of  the  militia  of  New  York, 
had  fought  and  been  wounded  in  Wayne's  expedition  against  the 
Indians  m  1794,  was  a  man  of  great  courage,  and  having  more 
military  experience  than  almost  any  officer  of  the  regular  army  in 
that  neighbourhood,  his  kinsman,  the  general,  committed  no  very 
great  impropriety  by  placing  him  at  the  head  of  the  descent  upon 
Canada,  which,  by  the  same  stroke,  was  to  redeem  the  character 
of  the  country  and  of  the  militia.  It  was  headed  by  Colonel 
Van  Rensselear  and  Colonel  Chrystie  of  the  regular  troops,  with 
ecjual  numbers  of  militia  and  regulars.  Before  day  both  parties 
embarked,  but  Colonel  Van  Rensselear  alone  effected  the  landing 
of  his  party  on  the  Canada  shore  sometime  before  Colonel  Chrys- 
tie with  his.  Van  Rensselaer  gallantly  led  his  men  to  the  charge 
in  spite  of  all  resistance,  and  though  four  times  severely  wounded 
pushed  on  as  far  as  he  could,  soon  joined  by  Chrystie,  Captain 
Armstrong  of  the  regulars,  I  believe,  a  son  of  the  secretary  of 
war  next  year,  Captain  Ogilvie,  Captain  Machesney,  Captain 
Totten,  now  colonel  of  the  corps  of  Engineers,  Captain  Wool, 
now  brigadier  general,  and  other  officers  of  tlie  regular  army,  Cap- 
tain Gibson,  afterwards  colonel  of  a  rifle  regiment  killed  at  the  sortie 
from  Fort  Erie,  and  Colonel  Fenwick,  who  also  contrived  to  get 
over  the  river,  and  were  engaged  in  the  enterprise.  The  stream 
was  extremely  difficult,  the  boatmen  mere  hirelings,  under  no  other 


■  ■■y-' 


'••u,. 


,;it 


■V.^^'"'^''-.' 


'Wk 


92 


MILITIA    MUTINY, 


[OCT.  1812. 


control  than  pay  and  fear ;  the  officers  one  and  all  inexperienced, 
and  it  would  be  neither  profitable  nor  perhaps  jnossible  to  describe 
the  day's  confnsed  proceedings  intelligibly.  The  advance,  those 
who  first  effected  a  landing,  stormed  the  English  entrenchments ; 
in  the  endeavour  to  rally  his  men  to  retake  them  just  at  break  of 
'lay,  the  English  General  Brock  was  killed,  and  his  volunteer  aid- 
de-camp  Colonel  McDowell,  of  the  provincial  militia,  attorney- 
general  of  the  province.  Geroral  Brock  was  a  Guernsey  man,  and 
fell  from  his  horse  by  a  shot  in  the  breast,  cheering  on  his  soldiers. 
The  carnage  was  great  in  proportion  to  numbers  :  several  of  our 
officers  were  killed  and  many  more  wo\uided,among  the  rest  Colo- 
nel P'enwick,  shot  in  the  head  and  hand  severely.  There  was  cou- 
rage enough,  as  usual,  but  little  conduct.  Our  officers  had  not  yet 
learned  their  parts,  and  the  militia  behaved,  most  of  them,  infa- 
mously. General  Wadsworth,  of  the  New  York  militia,  a  gentle- 
man of  fortune,  who, like  General  Van  Rensselaer,  though  opposed 
to  the  war,  turned  out  with  alacrity  to  carry  it  on  even  offensively, 
(the  line  is  evanescent  between  offensive  and  defensive  wars,) 
crossed  over  to  Canada  during  the  fighting,and  took  the  command 
there  ;  his  object  being  to  set  the  militia  a  good  example,  who 
were  beginning  not  only  to  refuse  to  cross,  but  some  who  had 
done  so,  returning  to  our  side.  General  Van  Rensselaer  with 
similar  intentions  passed  over  into  Canada  during  the  day,  not 
having  gone  with  the  vanguard.  Al  one  time  it  seemed  as  f  we 
were  victorious,  but  General  Sheaffe,  who  succeeded  Brock  in 
command  of  the  enemy,  marched  up  reinforcements  of  regular 
soldiers  along  the  margin  of  the  river  from  Fort  George,  while 
the  Indian  clans,  that  never-failing  resource  of  English  warfare, 
hurried  up  from  Chippewa.  At  this  stage  and  prospect  of  affairs 
our  militia  ou  this  side  mutinied,  absolutely  and  altogether  refus- 
ing to  f  'OSS.  The  aspect  of  things  soon  changed  when  General 
Van  Rensselaer  considered  the  victory  won,  and  mainly  by  militia. 
It  was  a  day  of  more  than  usual  disorder,  though  nearly  every 
battle  is  much  less  methodical  than  accounts  of  it.  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Scott  had  come  a  volunteer  from  Buffalo,  with  two  pieces 
of  artillery  brought  in  a  boat,  as  the  road  was  impracticable, 
conducted  by  Lieutenant  Roach.  Both  these  young  men,  in  full 
uniform,  were  so  resolved  on  having  part  in  the  battle,  that,  al- 
though ordered  back,  they  persevered,  and  got  over  the  river 
almost  in  spite  of  interdict,  where  Scott  with  his  guns  drove  back 


CHAP.  II.] 


AMERICAN    DEFEAT. 


93 


the  Indians.  It  was  that  gallant  officer's  first  engagement,  and 
his  most  unfortunate  ;  for  he  was  taken  prisoner,  and  with  many 
more  marched  first  to  Montreal,  then  Quebec,  a  spectacle  for  the 
enemy.  Sheafl'e's  forces  far  outnumbering  ours  on  the  Canadian 
side,  while  we  had  an  all-sufficient  number  on  this  who  would 
not  cross,  after  marching  about  our  people  for  some  time  reconnoi- 
tering,  Sheaff'e  finally  attacked  and  routed  them.  They  fled  to  the 
shore,  but  their  boats  were  gone.  General  Van  Rensselaer  who, 
in  the  course  of  the  day  crossed  over,  had  returned  when  he  heard 
of  the  demur  of  the  militia  to  follow,  leaving  General  Wadsworth 
in  command.  Riding  among  the  miscreant  militia,  with  some  of 
their  officers  and  Judge  Peck  to  second  him,  the  disheartened  and 
disgusted  general,  Van  Rensselaer,  in  vain  tried  to  prevail  on 
them  to  pass  the  river  and  secure  the  victory  won ;  one-third  of 
them  would  do  it,  he  assured  them.  But  neither  ordei,  reason, 
persuasion  nor  shame  had  any  etl'ect.  They  had  constitutional 
objections  to  extra-territorial  service.  Fifteen  hundred  able- 
bodied-men,  well  armed  and  equipped,  shortly  before  clamorous 
with  prowess  and  untameable  spirit,  now  put  on  the  mask  of 
lawfulness,  as  General  Armstrong  said,  to  hide  their  cowardice. 
Militia  are  like  what  is  said  of  women :  various  and  mutable, 
excellent  or  execrable,  according  to  the  mood,  as  valour,  or  panic, 
or  any  other  predominant  feeling  dictates.  The  militia  returns 
for  1813  gave  720,000  men  in  the  United  States  ;  many  of  thera 
descendants  o*  '  ose  who  at  Saratoga,  Bunker  Hill,  King's  moun- 
tain and  other  places  displayed  as  much  fortitude  as  courage.  But 
on  this  occasion,  Van  Rensselaer's  excluding  the  regulars,  if  he 
did  so  for  the  honour  of  militia,  had  terrible  retribution.  All  he 
could  do  was  to  send  a  supply  of  amniuni  ion  to  Wadsworth  with 
a  message  leaving  it  optional  with  him  whether  to  resist  or  retreat, 
as  he  chose.  Wadsworth  could  do  neither.  Surrender  nearly 
unconditional  was  all  he  could  do  or  get  for  his  troops,  who  from 
before  day  in  the  morning  till  late  in  the  afternoon  had  been 
constantly  engaged.  They  did  not  yield  at  once  without  a  sharp 
conrtict,  however  ;  but  panic  seized  some  of  the  militia,  and  com- 
plete rout  soon  took  place  instead  of  orderly  retreat,  a  movement 
beyond  the  discipline  of  unpractised  troops.  Rushing  to  the 
shore  and  finding  no  boats,  many  brave  men  had  no  alternative 
but  to  suirentler  on  the  enemy's  terms.  An  armistice  of  three 
days,  however,  was  arranged,  and  the  Americnns  were  humanely 


94 


MILITIA. 


[OCT.  181i?. 


treated,  except  in  some  instances,  of  what  Chrystic,  an  English- 
man, mentions  as  terrible  slaughter  by  Indians,  whom  it  was 
impossible  to  restrain.  Of  about  1100  fighting  men  who  crossed 
the  river,  nearly  all  were  killed,  wounded  or  taken.  During  the 
engagement,  the  English  batteries  damaged  some  on  our  side  and 
the  brig  Caledonia  there.  The  American  prisoners  were  paraded 
through  Canada.  Brock  and  his  aid  M'Donnel  were  buried  at 
Newark,  and  minute  guns  fired  from  our  side  during  the  cere- 
mony, as  an  act  of  respect  for  a  brave  though  dangerous  enemy. 
In  a  few  days  General  Van  Rensselaer  resigned  the  command. 
His  battle  of  Queenstown  added  another  to  numerous  proofs 
that  undisciplined  valour,  though  the  basis  of  all  martial  success, 
is  unavailing  without  energetic  commanders  capable  of  enforcing 
obedience,  a  virtue  as  indispensable  as  valour  to  ensure  victory. 
Without  obedience  in  the  soldier  and  energy  in  the  commander 
an  army  is  but  a  mob. 

General  Van  Rensselaer's  official  letter  to  Governor  Tompkins, 
dated  at  Buffalo,  the  23d  of  October,  1812,  states,  that  having 
received  General  Dearborn's  permission  to  resign  his  command, 
he  would  proceed  immediately  to  Albany.  Meanwhile  he  men- 
tions as  distinguished  in  the  battle  of  Queenstown,  General  Wads- 
worth  and  his  aid  Major  Spencer,  Colonel  Van  Rensselaer,  Lieu- 
tenant-Colonels Bloom,  Allen,  Strahan  and  Mead,  Lieutenant 
Smith  and  Ensign  Grosvenor  of  Major  Moseley's  rifle  corps ; 
adding,  with  natural  sensibility,  that  after  all  the  toils  and  priva- 
tions of  a  very  perplexing  campaign,  to  be  obliged  to  witness  the 
sacrifice  of  victory  so  gallantly  won  on  the  shrine  of  doubt  was 
mortifying  indeed. 

At  a  dinner  given  that  winter,  at  Washington,  lo  General 
Harrison,  his  toast  was,  that  a  well-organized  militia  will  accom- 
plish great  results.  But  ever  since  Washington's  volumes  of 
complaints  of  them  and  short  enlistments  i;'  the  Revolution, 
no  President,  Secretary  of  War,  or  any  one  else,  has  succeeded 
to  organize  the  militia.  Can  it  be  done?  Seventy  years  endea- 
vour have  failed.  The  defeat  at  Queenstown  was  not  the  first, 
though  most  fatal  of  their  failures.  Some  of  the  Pennsylvania 
militia,  from  Erie,  refused  to  accompany  General  Harrison  into 
Canada,  on  the  constitutional  pretext ;  and  others  turned  back 
after  having  ciossed  the  line.  The  Kentuckians  had  no  scruple. 
Militia  are  a  local  force  everywhere ;  not  to  be  marched  upon 
foreign  conquests,  like  standing  armies  of  enlisted  or  conscribed 


i 


CHAP.  II.] 


GENERAL    ALEXANDER    SMYTHE. 


95 


soldiers.  But  the  doctrine  was  destructive  to  military  operations, 
which  asserted  that  from  New  Yoric  or  Michigan  to  Canada,  over 
a  river,  perhaps  an  ideal  frontier,  this  force  cannot  be  compelled 
to  march.  English  militia  are  not  transported  over  sea  to  Han- 
over, there  to  fight  the  king's  battles.  Even  the  French  National 
Guard,  or  the  German  Landwehr  are  troops  appropriated  to  ser- 
vice within  the  country.  Hut  a  right  to  refuse  to  go  beyond  the 
border,  was  one  of  the  factious  dogmas  of  the  war  of  18 1 2,  preached 
by  the  disaffected  of  Massachusetts,  which,  in  the  event  of  war 
with  the  British  provinces  in  that  region,  might  be  extremely 
inconvenient ;  it  was  not  their  doctrine  when  Pepperell  led  them 
to  the  siege  of  Louisburgh. 

After  General  Van  Rensselaer's  departure.  General  Smythe 
closed  the  campaign  of  1812,  in  that  quarter,  by  a  failure  much 
ridiculed  and  yet  vindicated;  at  all  events  a  miserable  abortion, 
which,  in  November,  instead  of  atoning  for,  much  increased,  our 
discredit  of  October.  On  the  10th  of  November,  Smythe  issued 
a  proclamation  "  to  the  men  of  New  York,"  in  which  he  stated 
that  "  valour  has  been  conspicuous,  but  the  nation  unfortunate  in 
the  selection  of  some  of  those  directing  it;  one  army  disgracefully 
surrendered,  another  lost,  and  sacrificed  by  precipitate  attempts 
to  pass  it  over  to  their  enemies'  lines  with  incompetent  means ; 
the  cause  of  these  miscarriages  apparent — the  commanders  were 
popular  men,  destitute  alike  of  theory  and  experience  in  the  art 
of  war.  In  a  few  days  the  troops  under  my  command  will 
plant  the  American  standard  in  Canada,  to  conquer  or  to  die. 
Men  of  New  York,  you  desire  your  share  of  fame.  Then  seize 
the  present  moment.  If  you  do  not  you  will  regret  it ;  say  the 
valiant  bled  in  vain,  the  friends  of  my  country  fell,  and  I  was 
not  there."  This  pompous  proclamation  was  soon  followed  by 
another  in  similar  strain;  and  a  large  force  from  five  to  six 
thousand  men,  none  apparently  disinclined  to  cross  the  river, 
were  embodied  under  General  Smythe  for  embarkation.  This 
commencement  introduced  the  attempted  movement,  the  entire 
failure  of  which  caused  General  Smythe,  by  an  act  of  executive 
power,  to  be  excluded  from  the  regular  army,  in  which  he  had 
for  sometime  commanded  a  regiment  before  his  promotion  to  a 
brigade.  He  was  deposed  without  trial,  and  complained  of  it, 
as  he  had  a  right  to  do,  in  a  petition  presented  the  following 
December  to  the  House  of  Repr  sentatives  by  the  Speaker. 


GENERAL     PETRR    B.    POUTER. 


[NOV.  M3. 


Roger  Nelson,  of  Virginia,  of  which  state  General  Smythe  was, 
moved  its  i  ufereuci?  to  a  select  committ(  u.  But,  on  motion  of 
Mr.  Troup,  chairman  of  the  military  co.aniittee,  it  was  n  ferred 
to  the  Secretary  of  War ;  which  was  delivering  the  lamb  to  the 
wolf,  fi  s  the  secretary  was  the  arl^itrary  power  complained  of, 
which  proved  in  this  instance  irresistible,  because  popular  senti- 
ment was  with  its  exercise,  which  enaDles  the  American  execu- 
tive sometimes  to  strike  blows  and  even  do  wrongs  which,  in 
less  free  countries  would  not  be  submitted  to.  The  restrictive 
system  by  which  Jetferson  endeavoured  to  prevent  war,  the  war 
itself,  and  many  of  Madison's  constitutional  acts  during  the  war, 
prove  that  popular  government  has  vast  power. 

On  the  2Sth  of  November  an  advance  was  embarked  near 
Buffalo  under  Colonel  Winder  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  Boerstler, 
in  good  boats,  manned  tl  it  time  by  seamen,  commanded  by 
Lieutenants  Angus  and  Dudley  and  Sailing-Master  Watts,  of 
the  Navy,  before  day-light,  without  unfavourable  weather,  one 
of  the  disadvantages  which  Van  Rensselaer  and  Chrystie  had  to 
encounter— a  pelting  north-eastern  storm  in  that  uncomfortable 
reason.  The  soldiers  and  sailors  made  good  their  landing  and, 
as  on  the  13th  of  October,  forthwith  carried  the  British  batteries 
hy  slorm.  But  now,  as  then,  the  enemy  came  upon  them  from 
distant  stations;  and  with  no  more  help  from  General  Smythe 
than  the  former  vanguard  had  from  the  militia,  our  few  adven- 
turers in  Canada  were  soon  overpowered.  Watts  killed.  Captain 
King,  of  the  regular  army,  taken  prisoner,  the  rest  getting  back  to 
our  side  of  the  river,  as  well  as  they  could,  in  great  confusion.  Mr. 
Samuel  Swartwout,  since  collector  of  the  port  of  New  York,  was 
of  this  worse  than  useless  expedition.  Colonel  Boerstler  was  con- 
sidered the  most  prominent  leader  of  it,  though  General  Arm- 
strong never  thought  well  of  his  soldiership,  which,  next  sum- 
mer, came  to  a  discreditable  end.  General  Peter  B.  Porter,  of  the 
New  York  volunteers,  who  had  been  a  leading  member  of  Con- 
gress when  war  was  declared,  and  was  conspicuous  in  the  Cana- 
dian battles  of  1814,  was  embarked  on  the  28th  of  November, 
with  two  thousand  men,  ready  ^nd  eager  for  action  ;  in  fact  half 
way  over  the  river.  But  General  Smythe  not  only  staid  him- 
self, as  the  militia  had  done  in  October  on  the  American  side, 
with  several  thousand  troops,  urgent  to  cross  into  Canada  in 
November,  but  prevented  any  one  going  to  the  relief  of  the  ad- 


ClfAP.  11.) 


r.EVKRAI.    SMYTIIR. 


97 


\ 


vaiicp,  countormandcd  the  whole  expedition  ;  and  the  day  ended 
in  strange  inaction.  General  Porter  [)ublished  (leneral  Smytlie  in 
tlie  newspapers  as  guilty  of  cowardice.  General  Sniytlie  retorted 
through  the  same  medium  of  oflence,  accusino;  General  Portf-r  of 
fraud ;  declaring  that  his  courage  and  patriotism  were  solely 
actuated  by  gain  or  loss,  as  he  was  contractor  to  supply  the  troops. 
Among  other  recriminations  it  w;is  said,  in  fact  printed  as  history, 


that  Smythe  was  confound* 
Icry,  bugles,  trumpets,  dr 
noises,  raised  to  make  the  i 
all  propriety.  He  insisted  V 
to  raise  the  clamour  agains 


'he  uproar  of  the  English  artil- 
I  in  yells,  and  other  cfHicertcd 
and  fright  our  general  from 
iiractor's  agent  iiad  coiUrived 
11,  liii.  ingthe  contract  a  losing  one, 
and  wishing  to  see  the  army  in  (^anada  that  he  might  not  he  hound 
to  supply  it.  lie  was  anxious  for  the  invasion,  he  said,  but  wrote 
to  General  Dearborn,  "  I  must  not  bo  defeated."  Ilr  averred 
that  he  called  together  the  officers  commanding  corps  of  the 
regular  arriiy,and  they  unanimously  decided  against  proceeding. 
Tlio  troops  wore  in  tents,  sickly,  the  volunteers  not  to  be  de- 
pended upon.  Smythe's  orders  were  not  to  cross  without  3000 
men  at  the  same  time.  The  affair  at  Queenstown,  he  argued, 
was  a  caution  against  relying  on  crowds  on  the  banks,  to  look  on 
a  battle  like  a  play ;  if  disappointed,  to  break  their  muskets  ; 
if  without  rations  for  a  day,  to  desert.  Failing,  however,  to 
even  attempt  an  invasion  heralded  by  strong  condemnation  of 
preceding  commanders,  supported  by  a  large  force,  and  de- 
nounced by  the  whole  population,  as  a  wretched  failure,  Gene- 
ral Smythe  became  the  scapegoat  of  the  day.  Assaulting  other 
commanders  and  comrades  by  odious  disparagement  instead  of 
the  common  enemy  of  all  by  arms,  lie  could  hardly  escape  such 
retribution.  Yielding  to  the  clamour,  he  appoined  first  one  day, 
then  another,  after  the  28th  of  November,  for  other  attempts  at 
invasion ;  the  troops  were  ready,  the  volunteers  embarked ;  Peter 
B.  Porter  in  a  leading  boat,  with  a  flag,  to  show  that  he  was 
foremost.  But  General  Smythe,  to  universal  disappointment, 
chagrin,  and  indignation,  again  and  finally  revoked  the  whole 
proceeding,  ordered  the  volunteers  to  go  home,  the  regular 
troops  into  winter  quarters,  Canada  let  alone;  and  another  unfor- 
tunate general,  never  tried  but  in  the  public  journals,  and  by 
common  opinion,  was  actually  driven  away  to  be  no  more  heard 
of,  mobbed  by  the  militia  and  populace,  not  without  strenuous 

VOL.  I. — 9 


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98 


GENERAL    DEARBORN. 


[NOV.  1818. 


vindication  by  himself  and  others  in  the  newspapers,  but  with- 
out favour  or  further  employment.  General  Smythe  after  the  war 
represented  one  of  the  Virginia  districts  in  Congress.  Instead 
of  a  battle  with  the  English,  his  military  career  ended  in  a  duel 
with  General  Peter  B.  Porter,  who  accepted  Smythe's  challenge 
to  that  trial  of  courage.  On  the  13th  December,  1812,  the  Buffalo 
Gazette  published  a  communication  from  Colonel  Wm.  H.  Win- 
der, and  Lieutenant  Samuel  H.  Angus,  the  seconds,  by  which  it 
appeared  that  the  two  generals  repaired  that  day  to  Grand 
Island  and  exchanged  a  shot,  in  an  intrepid  manner  by  both, 
without  effect.  It  was  then  represented  by  General  Smythe's 
second  that  General  Porter  must  be  convinced  that  his  charge  of 
cowardice  was  unfounded,  and  after  explanation,  it  was  retracted. 
General  Smythe  then  said  that  he  knew  nought  derogatory  to 
General  Porter's  character  as  a  gentleman  and  officer ;  the  hand 
of  reconciliation  was  offered  and  received,  and  the  seconds  con- 
gratulated the  public  on  the  happy  issue.  The  public  would 
have  preferred  a  battle  in  Canada. 

Besides  the  unlucky  battle  of  Queenstown,  and  still  more 
discreditable  abortion  of  the  last  attempt  in  that  quarter,  there 
remains  nothing  to  tell  of  that  year's  campaign  but  General 
Dearborn's  miscarriage,  more  inexplicable  and  mortifying  than 
all,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Lake  Champlain.  There  were  other 
slight  eructations  of  combat  on  that  frontier,  border  outbreaks 
hardly  worth  mentioning.  On  the  19th  October,  Colonel  Pike 
tried  an  incursion  into  Canada,  assaulted  an  English  post,  burned 
a  block  house,  and  returned  without  loss.  On  the  22d  October, 
Captain  Lyon  captured  forty  English  at  St.  Regis,  going  with  dis- 
patches from  the  governor-general  to  an  Indiab  tribe,  took  all  their 
baggage  and  dispatches,  together  with  a  stand  of  colours ;  our  first 
trophy  on  land  after  five  months  disastrous  warfare.  This  stand 
of  colours  was  taken  by  William  M.  Marcy,  now  Secretary  of 
War ;  the  prisoners  were  the  first,  (not  retaken,)  captured  on  land, 
so  that  the  first  colours  and  the  first  prisoners  of  the  war  were 
captured  by  volunteers.  On  the  23d  November,  at  Salmon  river, 
not  far  from  St.  Regis,  the  enemy  captured  a  couple  of  our  officers 
with  some  forty  men  and  four  boats.  The  crowning  act  of  our 
military  misdeeds  that  year,  absurd  end  of  all,  was  Dearborn's, 
the  feeblest  of  all  the  attempts  at  invading  Canada.  Henry 
Dearborn,  of  Massachusetts,  who  had  served  with  repute  in  the 


"i:^ 


3 


CHAP.  II.] 


GENERAL    DEARBORN. 


99 


i 


'\ 


war  of  the  Revolution,  and  was  Secretary  of  War  during  Jeffer- 
son's administration,  appointed  senior  commander  of  our  armies 
for  the  war  of  1812,  was  a  man  of  large  bodily  frame,  who 
enjoyed  the  respect  of  the  officers  serving  under  him,  as  attested 
by  their  valedictory  when  he  was  removed  from  command 
of  the  northern  army  at  Fort  George  in  July,  1813.  It  was 
General  Dearborn's  misfortune  to  have  an  army  to  form,  an 
inexperienced,  not  over-ardent  executive,  a  Secretary  of  War 
constrained  to  resign,  a  Senate  inclined  to  distrust  the  Executive, 
Congress  withholding  taxes  and  supplies  for  near  twelve  months 
after  war  was  declared,  waiting  upon  a  presidential  election, 
disaffected  stales,  Dearborn's  own  state,  Massachusetts,  at  the 
head  of  disaffection,  a  country  destitute  of  military  means  and 
men,  unaccustomed  to  restraints,  and  impatient  for  exploit. 
These  were  disadvantages  for  General  Dearborn,  which  history 
would  bo  unjust  not  to  acknowledge,  whatever  hasty  judgment 
was  passed  upon  liiih  at  the  moment.  Perhaps  if  more  time 
had  been  allowed,  some  of  the  veteran  commanders  would  have 
done  better.  But  there  appeared  to  be  a  want  of  alacrity,  of 
activity,  a  torpor  about  Dearborn's  movements  which  induced 
getting  rid  of  him,  it  may  be  with  unjust  precipitation.  Expe- 
rience of  veteran  generals,  however,  was  as  instructive  of  their 
unfitness  for  command,  during  most  of  that  war,  as  of  raw  re- 
cruits. Men  qualified  to  command  are  always  extremely  rare- 
Great  generals  are  like  great  poets;  they  appear  but  once  in  a 
series  of  ages ;  like  poets,  too,  they  must  be  born  generals.  Genius 
is  indispensable  for  command.  No  art  will  supply  its  place.  The 
exfoliation  of  generals  was  unintermitting  during  the  first  two 
years  of  the  war.  Throughout  the  autumn  of  1812,  General 
Dearborn  had  his  own  time,  with  adequate  means  to  prepare 
an  army  of  five  or  six  thousand  troops,  whom  if  it  liad  been 
only  to  keep  them  from  measles,  camp  fever,  and  other  diseases 
with  which  they  were  afflicted,  it  was  better  to  put  in  motion 
somewhere  and  somehow  on  Lake  Champlain,  even  as  demon- 
stration to  keep  Prevost  from  strengthening  Brock  and  Sheaffe  on 
the  Niagara.  Dearborn  had  the  largest  discretion  from  the  war 
department  to  employ  troops  of  any  and  every  sort,  hire  boats, 
and  otherwise  prepare  for  action,  and  positive  orders  to  act 
offensively  as  soon  as  possible.  He  had  more  than  3000  regular 
troops,  Chandler's  and  Bloomfield's  brigades  of  infantry,  with 


■ii-v 


.'''I 


%-'U\\ 


100 


DEARBORN'S    FAILURE. 


[NOV.  1812. 


';!^^'^' 


■'■■  ■;  ( 


adequate  numbers  of  cavalry,  field,  and  light  artillery,  two 
thousand  V^ermont  and  one  thousand  New  York  militia,  and 
might  have  had  more,  if  deemed  necessary,  ail  well  provided, 
even  with  specie  to  pay  for  what  they  should  want  in  Canada. 
Some  estimated  the  British  force  on  the  Canadian  Peninsula 
formed  by  the  rivers  Sorel  and  St.  Lawrence,  including  the 
garrisons  at  Isle  Aux  Noix,  St.  Johns,  and  Chambly,  at  more 
than  General  Dearborn's  force.  But  General  Armstrong  insists 
that  it  did  not  exceed  3000  altogether,  to  protect  900  miles  in 
extent,  and  the  provincial  militia  ought  not  to  have  been  better 
Jhan  ours.  The  Aurora  newspaper,  of  Philadelphia,  edited  by 
('olonel  Duane,  an  oilrer  of  Jefl'erson's  appointment  into  the 
regular  army,  probably  derived  its  information  from  General 
Bloomfield,  a  worthy  gentleman,  who,  like  nearly  every  one  of 
our  revolutionary  generals,  after  insignificant  service  in  the  war 
of  1812,  was  content  to  stay  near  home,  and  commanded  at  Phila- 
delphia. The  editor  of  the  Aurora,  on  the  23d  November,  1812, 
announced  that,  pursuant  to  determination  in  a  council  of  war, 
with  the  utmost  unanimity  after  due  consideration  of  the  means 
and  objects,  the  advance  of  the  northern  army,  amounting  to 
nearly  6000  men  in  force  for  active  operation,  moved  under 
Brigadier-General  Bloomfield,  from  their  position  at  Plattsburg, 
destined  for  Canada.  "  The  army,"  said  this  semi-official  an- 
nouncement, "must  have  entered  the  enemy's  country  about  the 
20th,  and  three  days  will  have  brought  the  troops  to  conflict, 
unless  the  British  make  war  like  the  Russians.  The  gallantry 
and  fidelity  of  the  militia  Green  Mountain  boys  and  brave 
Yorkers  will  save  them  from  the  reproach  pr«f,  upon  the  hitherto 
boasted  bulwark  of  the  republic  by  the  b  ty  and  cowardice 
displayed  by  idle  spectators  at  Queenstown,  :,d  put  to  shame  the 
laiihlessness  and  treachery  of  neighb.uis  in  Massachusetts."  So 
ran  this  editorial  preface  to  Dearborn's  lailure,  like  Smythe's  pro- 
clamation, premising  the  farce  pei formed  at  the  same  time,  on  the 
Niagara.  On  the  1 7th  November  ihe  commander  of  the  Canadian 
ibrces  in  that  vicinity,  a  major  of  the  voyageurs,  received  intelli- 
gence at  St.  Philips,  that  Dearborn,  10,000  strong,  was  approach- 
ing Odeltown,  and  dispatched  a  couple  of  companies  of  that  force, 
with  three  hundred  Indians  to  the  river  Lacole;  soon  followed 
by  other  companies  of  voyageurs,  together  with  as  many  chas- 
seurs as  could  be  hastily  raised  from  the  neighbouring  parishes. 


■  ''  i' "I 


CHAP,  n.] 


GENERAL    DEARBORN. 


101 


On  ihe  20th,  in  the  morning,  a  captain  visiting  the  picquet  guard 
discovered  our  fourteen  hundred  regulars,  with  a  troop  of  cavalry 
and  a  company  of  militia,  led  by  Colonel  Pike,  advancing  into 
Canada.  A  confused  and  incomprehensible  skirmish  ensued,  in 
which  each  party's  object  seemed  to  be  to  get  away  from  the 
other,  till  the  Americans,  in  the  dark,  mistaking  themselves  for 
enemies  began  to  fire  on  each  other,  killed  four  or  five  and 
wounded  as  many  of  themselves,  and  then  returned  leaving  their 
dead  behind,  which  Indians  never  would  have  done.  Where 
Generals  Dearborn,  Chandler,  and  Bloomfield  were  during  this 
wretched  foray,  did  not  then  appear,  nor  can  be  now  told.  On 
no  occasion  did  General  Dearborn  ever  lead  his  troops  into 
action.  After  this  check,  he  led  his  6000  men  back  to  winter 
quarters.  Chandler's  brigade  at  Burlington,  and  Bloomfield's  at 
Plattsburg,  there  to  rot  and  die  of  the  distempers  of  military 
idleness,  the  worst  form  of  that  worst  of  all  distempers. 

Jefferson,  however,  did  not  select  Dearborn  for  Secretary  of 
War,  in  which  department  his  economy  and  regularity  were  re- 
markable, nor  Madison  appoint  him  commander-in-chief  of  the 
army  without  reason.  Bred  to  medicine,  he  was  early  and 
active,  brave  and  exemplary  in  the  field,  from  first  to  last  in  the 
war  of  the  Revolution ;  commanded  a  company  at  the  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  volurteered  in  the  severe  expedition  with  Arnold 
to  follow  Montgomery  to  Quebec,  where  Dearborn  was  taken 
prisoner,  was  in  the  battles  of  Trenton,  Princeton  and  Monmouth, 
at  the  siege  of  Yorktown,  and  on  all  occasions  a  meritorious  offi- 
cer when  young. 

On  this  occasion,  again,  the  militia  were  infected  by  the  leprosy 
of  constitutional  right — to  refuse  orders  to  wage  war  as  its  ap- 
pointed chiefs  ordain.  Of  the  3000  militia  who  marched  with 
Dearborn  for  Canada,  nearly  all  refused  to  cross  the  line,  in- 
cluding a  company  who  advanced  with  Pike  but  halted  at  the 
very  border.  Aimey's  dragoons,  of  Saratoga — a  place  forever 
glorious  in  the  annals  of  militia  and  volunteers,  which  gave  us 
F.anklin'j  treaty  with  France  that  crowned  the  war  of  the  Revo- 
lution with  the  capture  of  Cornwallis— two  hundred  men  under 
Major  Smith,  of  Plattsburg,  and  Major  Young,  of  Troy,  Birdsall*s 
Riflerhen,  of  Waterwick,  Lyon's  Troy  Invincibles,  Highby's  Troy 
Fencibles,  and  Warner's  company,  with  a  few  more  of  the  irre- 
gular force,  were  honourable  exceptions  to  the  dastard  disaffection 

9* 


■■■■';\Vft « 


ii^Mv:  ,•■■' 


;•'.    ..,'i>: 


.;» 


'U 


102 


END    OF    CAMPAIGN    OF    1812. 


[DEC.  1812. 


'Wli 


which  thinned  our  ranks,  demoralized  our  armies,  and  largely 
contributed  to  frustrate  the  campaign  of  1812.  But  General 
Dearborn  had  regular  troops  enough  at  least  to  have  taken  the 
Isle  Aux  Noix,  the  key  to  Canada,  when  he  retreated,  or  at  any 
other  time  during  that  season.  There  were  few,  if  any,  British 
regular  troops  opposed  to  him.  Provincial  substitutes,  French  in 
their  habits,  language  and  aversion  to  English,  (whom,  however, 
the  governor-general  of  the  province,  Prevost,  displayed  excellent 
talents  for  conciliating,  commanding  and  animating  with  a  spirit 
of  local  resistance  to  invasion,)  voyageurs,  traders,  travellers, 
Indians,  were  our  chief  antagonists  and  English  reliance.  En- 
countered at  the  threshold  by  such  insignificant  obstacles,  dis- 
couraged probably  by  militia  defection,  when  he  should  with 
his  regular  forces  have  established  himself  at  Isle  Aux  Noix  for 
I  he  winter,  at  least  threatening  Montreal,  if  not  making  good  his 
way  there  and  holding  it,  for  such  success  would  have  rallied 
thousands  to  his  standard,  General  Dearborn  fell  back,  after  a 
failure,  the  climax  of  our  military  degradation  for  that  year.  la 
1814  the  reverses  of  1812  and  1813  were  atoned  for  by  brilliant 
feats  of  arms,  though  still  barren  of  Canadian  conquests. 

The  campaign  of  1812  ended  in  total  eclipse,  without  a  gleam 
of  consolation ;  Dearborn's,  the  last  and  most  inexplicable  of  all 
its  miscarriages.  Hull's  incomprehensible  surrender  was  alarming 
and  terrible ;  the  battle  of  Queenstown  a  discomfiture  not  entirely 
without  solace ;  Smythe's  ridiculous  balk  at  least  provoking;  but 
the  commander-in-chief's  miscarriage,  without  even  heroism  of 
disaster,  afflicted  the  friends  of  war  with  conviction  that  they 
were  doomed  to  defeat.  With  all  indulgence  to  the  commanders 
of  1812  and  1813,  it  was  not  only  right  to  supersede  but  censure 
them,  as  their  faults  were  made  known.  The  English  generals 
had  much  greater  difficulties  to  contend  with  for  defending  Ca- 
nada than  our's  to  conquer  it.  Bonaparte's  splendid  career  of 
Italian  triumphs,  Wellington's  in  Spain,  began  with  and  over- 
came much  greater  similar  disadvantages.  Such  was  the  case 
with  Washington  in  the  North  and  Greene  in  the  South.  It  is 
nearly  always  so.  Generals  must  overcome  hindrances,  priva- 
tions and  prejudices  inflicted  by  their  own  constituents,  harder  ot 
management  than  to  subdue  enemies  in  arms  against  them.  A 
man  of  talents  leading  our  armies  to  Montreal,  as  might  have 
been  done  in  1812,  would  probably  have  brought  the  war  to  an 


-  >' 

r4 

':^'i 

1  ■>  .  'i 

■%.] 

.  ■    .ft 

'  .• .'     > 

''^. 

CHAP.  11.] 


END    OF   CAMPAIGN    OF    1812. 


103 


end  that  year.  England  was  completely  surprised  by  and  unpre- 
pared for  it.  Such  a  general  at  Detroit,  Niagara,  or  Champlain 
as  would  have  driven  the  English  beyond  Montreal,  might  have 
produced  immediate  peace.  As  soon  as  the  orders  in  council  were 
repealed,  England  tendered  it  in  full  contldence  that  we  would 
agree,  for  the  question  of  impressment  was  not  incapable  of  ac- 
commodation even  while  Great  Britain  remained  a  belligerent 
nation.  The  prince  regent's  speech  to  Parliament  the  7th  Janu- 
ary, 1813,  was  pacific:  he  expressed  regret  at  unadjusted  diffi- 
culties with  the  United  States  of  America,  assuring  both  Houses 
that  all  means  of  conciliation  would  be  employed  consistent  with 
the  honour  and  dignity  of  the  crown,  and  the  maritime  and  com- 
mercial rights  of  the  British  empire.  Hull  and  Dearborn,  and 
executive  inefficiency,  were  answerable  for  prolonging  the  war, 
the  vigorous  and  successful  commencement  of  which  might  have 
creditably  closed  it  soon  after  it  began.  The  feeling  of  haughty 
power  did  not  then  stimulate  Great  Britain  which  followed  the 
downfall  of  Napoleon  next  year.  The  time  for  war  was  fortunate 
for  us,  our  chance  of  success  good,  had  either  the  government 
or  its  military  agents  in  command  made  the  most  of  the  oppor- 
tunity. But  the  soldiery  were  demoralized  by  incapable  com- 
manders, in  mortifying  apprenticeship  to  the  art  of  war  for  two 
years,  of  transcendent  successes  by  sea,  which,  if  accompanied 
by  something  like  them  by  land,  might  have  prevented  that 
noviciate.  A  free  country  paid  in  war  for  the  liberty  enjoyed 
in  long  peace.  Free  people  will  not  bear  the  restraints  and  ex- 
pense of  military  organization  in  peace.  Since  the  declaration 
of  American  Independence,  however,  all  experience  in  the  Old 
World,  as  well  as  the  New,  proves  that  disciplined  freedom  is 
eventually  an  overmatch  for  despotic  discipline.  The  most  ab- 
solute governments  have  found  it  so.  The  problem  to  be  solved 
is,  liow  much  liberty  is  consistent  with  national  safety.  The  pro- 
gress of  the  United  States  in  military  science  and  equipment  since 
the  war  of  1812,  has  been  much  greater  than  from  the  ptace  of 
1783  till  then.  Oppression  provoked  that  war,  and  tribulation 
was  its  lesson.  But  if  war  by  a  martial  people,  disorganized  at 
first,  is  to  succeed  at  last,  is  not  excessive  liberty  preferable  to 
extreme  discipline?  The  end  crowns  the  work.  Men  must  be 
disciplined  to  obedience  and  harmony,  to  unity  of  action,  in  order 
to  succeed.     How  much  liberty  they  will  bear,  how  much  disci- 


-B. 


'■J; 


;;■;;,,  i' 


.^•■••■;  ;;■ 


■  ■'.•-"'''{ 


■D- 


■■>' 

•III 


cM 


f 


104 


PHISOSOPHY    OF    WAR. 


[DEC.  1813. 


pline  they  need,  arc  the  great  questions.  The  navy,  by  perfect 
discipline,  never  failed.  The  army,  without  discipline,  never  tri- 
umphed. Voluntary  government,  voluntary  religion,  voluntary 
hostilities  are  American  experiments,  which,  according  to  Jeffer- 
son's argument  of  relative  good,  have  thus  far  withstood  foreign 
aggression,  maintained  domestic  peace,  escaped  civil  war,  and 
advanced  the  arts  of  civilization.  By  happy  mixture  of  con- 
straint with  independence,  law  and  liberty,  the  United  States 
stand  now  among  the  primary  powers  of  the  world :  to  which 
elevation  the  war  of  1812,  with  its  preliminviry  reverses  and 
postliminious  successes,  largely  contributed.  It  may  long  remain 
matter  of  controversy  and  disputed  political  science,  whether 
republican  government  is  as  strong  as  others.  That  war  esta- 
blished beyond  dispute  its  capacity  for  war  under  difficult  and 
trying  circumstances;  which  seem  to  have  been  ordained  to 
prove  and  vindicate  by  early  misfortune  the  unconquerable 
spirit,  aptitude,  versatility,  and  resource  of  a  free  people. 


r 

■  CHAP. 


CHAP.  IIl.l 


CONGRESS. 


105 


CHAPTER    III. 


^'.^% 


:'  .1 


CONGRESS.— SPECIAL  SESSION  OF  1813.— TAX  BILLS.— JOHN  W.  EPPES. 
—JAMES  PLEASANTS.— JONATHAN  ROBERTS.— TIMOTHY  PITKIN.— 
WILLIAM  W.  BIBB.— HUGH  NELSON.— PREPARATION  FOR  WAR.— PEN- 
SIONS.—PRIVATEERS.— SECRET  SESSION.— MR.  GALLATIN'S  NOMINA- 
TION. 

The  session  of  Congress  began  the  24th  of  May,  1813.  On  the 
10th  of  June,  the  chairman  of  the  committee  of  Ways  and  Means, 
Mr.  Eppes,  with  permission  of  the  House,  reported  relative  to  a 
well-digested  system  of  public  revenue,  and,  on  motion  and  leave 
presented  the  tax  bills;  viz.,  for  the  assessment  and  collection  of  a 
direct  tax  on  lands  and  slaves,  a  salt  tax,  on  licenses  to  retailers, 
carriage  tax,  still  tax,  on  auctions,  on  refined  sugar,  on  stamps, 
on  foreign  tonnage,  further  provision  for  the  collections,  and  a  bill 
to  establish  the  office  of  commissioner  of  the  revenue.  All  these 
bills,  were,  as  usual,  read  the  first  and  second  time,  by  their  titles, 
that  day,  and  committed  to  a  committee  of  the  whole  House.  On 
the  22d  of  June,  the  House  took  them  up  in  committee,  Hugh 
Nelson  of  Virginia,  in  the  chair,  and  they  were  successively 
])ussed  through  the  regular  stages  of  enactment.  In  about  a 
month,  by  the  Utter  end  of  July,  this  considerable  bo  '  of  acts 
received  President  Madison's  signature,  and  were  put  in  opera- 
tion. 

John  W.  Eppes,  chairman  of  the  committee  which  performed 
this  important  function,  was  the  son-in-law  of  Jefferson,  the  bene- 
fit of  whose  confidential  correspondence  he  enjoyed.  Mr.  Eppes 
was  a  gentleman  of  respectable  abilities,  sincere  and  manly  in  his 
sentiments,  which  were  sometimes,  however,  rather  too  refined 
for  practical  application  to  the  emergencies  of  war.  During  most 
of  this  session  he  was  confined  by  a  fit  of  the  gout,  which  devolved 
on  Dr.  Bibb,  of  Georgia,  the  lead  in  the  committee  of  Ways  and 
Means.  Without  meaning  any  disparagement  of  Mr.  Eppes,  it 
was,  perhaps,  fortunate  for  the  tax  bills  that  their  passage  through 
the  House  devolved  on  a  member  who  made  no  speeches, 


';t•V;^^:^K  .;■.■ 


..  'j'j'>| 
"'.?• 


.'!:  .'Vf  1-1', 


.■■  '-h^jL 


I 


106 


CONGRBSS. 


[JUNE,  1813. 


mm  'i 

ill 

■14;  t|.. 


I 


as  the  chairman  was  no  doubt  prepared  to  do,  which  would 
have  elicited  answers  and  thus  consumed  time  precious  for  action. 
William  W.  Bibb,  afterwards,  I  think,  Governor  of  Alabama, 
was  a  young  man,  slight  of  person,  feeble  in  health,  taciturn, 
conciliatory,  firm,  decided  in  support  of  the  war  and  Madison's 
administration,  who  confined  what  he  said  on  the  floor  to  short 
explanations  in  answer  to  objections  or  questions,  without  in- 
dulging in  any  rhetoric.  The  tax  bills,  if  flooded  with  debate,  if 
not  foundered,  might  have  been  much  hindered :  the  previous 
question  being  then  a  rare  application.  Dr.  Bibb  was  ably  sup- 
ported in  the  committee  of  Ways  and  Means  by  James  Pleasants 
of  Virginia,  (of  which  state  I  believe  Dr.  Bibb  was  also  a  native,) 
one  of  the  most  respectable  members  of  that  Congress;  likewise 
without  ever  making  a  speech.  He  was  a  kinsman  of  Jefferson 
and  resembled  hini  in  the  sandy  complexion  said  to  indicate  an 
enterprising  temper.  Mr.  Pleasants  was  afterwards  Governor  of 
Virginia.  Washington,  Franklin,  Jefferson,  as  members  of  public 
assemblies,  filled  the  highest  places  without  the  talent  of  public 
speaking,  so  common  as  to  be  almost  cheap  in  the  United  States, 
by  no  means  universal  in  England,  and  extremely  rare  in  France, 
where  nearly  everybody  can  talk  but  few  speak,  which  seems 
to  be  a  difference  between  using  the  tongue  standing  or  sitting. 
Another  member  of  the  committee  of  Ways  and  Means  and  a 
frequent  speaker,  was  Mr.  Jonathan  Roberts,  of  Pennsylvania, 
yet  living  on  or  near  the  farm  which  his  family  acquired  when 
some  of  them  came  from  England  with  Penn ;  and  which  Mr. 
Roberts  tills  with  his  own  hands,  while  fond  of  literature  and 
well  read  in  polite  learning.  Mr.  Speaker  Clay,  thorough-going 
in  his  party  politics,  took  care  to  construct  his  committees  with 
large  administration  majorities  of  all  such  as  might  have  any 
influence  upon  the  war.  The  most  active  member  of  the  mi- 
nority opposed  to  war  and  the  administration  on  this  committee, 
was  Mr.  Timothy  Pitkin,  of  Connecticut,  a  gentleman  well 
known  for  his  statistical  and  historical  attainments  and  works. 
He  too  was  a  frequent  and  able  speaker,  decided  in  his  opposi- 
tion, but  temperate  and  fair.  Hugh  Nelson,  who  presided  as 
chairman  during  the  consideration  of  the  tax  bills,  was  remarka- 
bly conversant  with  the  rules  and  usages  of  a  deliberative  assem- 
bly, son  of  Thomas  Nelson  who  signed  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, and  afterwards  by  President  Monroe's  appointment, 


-I'M 


CHAP,  tll.l 


CONGRESS. 


107 


American  minister  in  Spain.  The  war  of  1812  was  beholden  to 
James  Madison,  James  Monroe,  Henry  Clay,  James  Pleasants, 
John  W.  Eppes,  William  W.  Bibu,  and  Hugh  Nelson,  all,  if  I  am 
not  mistaken,  natives  of  Virginia,  not  to  mention  others,  for  emi- 
nent services  in  elevated  stations.  Mr.  Nelson  represented  the 
district  where  three  successive  presidents  were  born ;  of  the  red 
earth,  John  Randolph  said,  fruitful  of  chief  magistrates.  The 
ancient  dominion,  as  that  state  is  called,  has  been  a  mother  of 
several  others,  fruitful  of  political  axioms  and  principles,  and  was 
powerfully  represented  in  all  branches  of  government  during  the 
war. 

The  thirteenth  Congress  convened  by  the  president  in  special 
session  to  impose  taxes,  represented  a  sparse  people,  only  twenty- 
five  on  an  average  to  the  square  mile,  scattered  o^er  disjc  ited 
territories  two  thousand  miles  square;  only  eight  millions  altoge- 
ther, white,  red,  and  black ;  for  thirty  years  plunged  in  the  pursuit 
of  gain,  imused  to  restraint,  unbroken  to  taxation,  which  they  had 
never  felt  but  to  resist  from  the  first  day  of  the  Revolution  in  1775. 
Tried  with  all  the  power  of  Washington's  administration,  it  was 
resisted  by  rebellion.  Continued  under  that  of  Adams,  further 
rebellion  ensued ;  and  taxes  were  the  means  by  which  that  ad- 
ministration was  overthrown.  Always  no  better  than  a  necessary 
evil,  taxes  in  England  required  war  for  their  imposition.  The 
war  of  the  American  Revolution  was  waged  almost  without 
them,  like  that  of  France,  by  paper  money.  Throughout  the 
war  of  1812,  among  all  the  difficulties  this  was  not  one.  Whether 
the  twelfth  Congress  could  have  laid  taxes  without  overthrowing 
Madison's  administration  may  be  a  question.  But  the  thirteenth 
Congress  did  so  without  hesitation  or  hindrance,  doubled  them 
as  occasion  required,  and  they  were  always  punctually  paid  in 
even  the  most  disaffected  parts  of  the  United  States.  Yet  it  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that  wise  men  feared  the  experiment.  The 
short-lived  representatives  of  a  self-governed  people  are  apt  to  be 
a  people-fearing  House  of  Representatives.  Mr.  Gallatin  might 
well  infer  from  all  the  taxation  experience  of  the  world,  espe- 
cially that  of  the  American  Revolution,  and  the  administrations  of 
Washington,  Adams,  and  Jefferson,  that  Congress  must  be  timid, 
selfish,  parsimonious,  and  unstable  :  less  disposed  as  they  gene- 
rally are  than  their  constituents  for  measures  of  decision.  The 
federal  constitution,  however,  is  in  this  respect,  much  stronger 


• 

■  A^-\ 

'■      '.    . 

■X 

■.            'I' 

*  ■ 

1 

108 


TAXES. 


[JUNE,  1813. 


.;> 


and  better  government  than  the  confederation.  By  that,  members 
of  Congress  eligible  for  but  one  year,  and  ineligible  but  for  three 
years  out  of  six,  revocable  at  all  times  by  vote  of  their  state  legislt- 
ture,had  no  authority  to  act  directly  upon  the  community  for  reve- 
nue, but  were  obliged  to  approach  the  people  through  the  mostly 
impenetrable  hindrance  of  state  legislation.  Early  impressions  of 
popular  and  state  power,  of  representative  dependence  and  timi- 
dity, were  therefore  natural  in  1812.  Many  years  afterwards  Mr. 
Madison  said  that,  without  reference  to  party  opposition,  there 
was  an  inscrutable  disaffection,  an  under  toe  in  Congress  he  called 
it,  som'^where,  which  baffled  his  administration  at  first.  Mem- 
bers of  Congress  of  the  war  party  more  tlian  whispered  that  it 
was  in  his  cabinet.  But  many  well  inclined  to  republican  govern- 
ment at  that  time  deemed  a  confederated  republic  incapable  of 
such  vigorous  and  constant  action  as  war  required. 

Notwithstanding  the  awkwardness  and  discomfiture  of  the 
commencement  of  belligerent  operations,  there  was  no  hesitation 
in  Congress,  in  1813,  to  enact  a  system  of  taxation,  or  in  the 
people  to  comply  with  it.  On  the  contrary,  seldom  has  a  session 
of  legislation  in  any  country,  where  the  right  of  free  discussion 
prevails,  been  conducted  with  more  order,  system,  vigour,  or  ad- 
vantage than  the  first  session  of  the  Thirteenth  Congress,  which 
was  adjourned  the  8d  day  of  August,  1813,  after  having  in  seventy 
days  accomplished  all  the  objects  of  the  assembly.  Law  making 
in  Congress  by  legislators  from  the  distant  parts  of  an  extended 
country,  divided  into  eighteen  sovereign  states,  with  various  con- 
flicting local  interests,  and  jarring  party  politics,  sometimes  there- 
fore called  ambassadors,  must  be  difficult,  should  be  deliberate, 
but  is  more  apt  to  be  precipitate  than  tardy,  as  is  the  common 
reproach.  The  majority  of  the  House  in  that  Congress,  were 
unanimous,  and  harmonious.  There  was  some  dissidence  in  the 
Senate ;  but  hardly  any,  if  any  at  all,  in  the  House,  certainly  no 
dissension,  among  the  supporters  of  the  war,  whose  pressure  sup- 
pressed whatever  inherent  tendency  to  discord  there  might  and 
must  be  in  such  bodies.  The  opposition  was  equally  united, 
zealous,  and  active.  But  to  oppose  war  duly  declared,  is  disad- 
vantage. Its  daily  events  and  tidings,  whether  victories  or  defeats, 
in  which  tlie  blood  shed  flows  from  a  common  country,  are  hardly 
reducible  to  mere  topics  of  party  censure,  but  mostly  must  be 
matters  of  general  exultation  or  universal  condolence.  Opposition 


% 


CHAP.  III.] 


CONGRESS. 


109 


vented  itself  less  against  the  war,  than  the  rrrifiner  of  carrying  it 
on,  the  place  of  its  transactions,  whether  it  should  he  Canada  or 
the  ocean,  tiie  ollicers  conducting  it,  whether  veterans  or  novices, 
the  funds  for  its  support,  whetlier  contributions  which  ought  to 
be  raised  from  those  who  denied  its  justice.  Tlio  latter  was  es- 
pecially the  great  endeavour  of  opposition.  Not  many  denied  the 
justice  of  the  war :  but  were  put  to  contend  that  it  should  include 
France  as  well  as  England,  or  should  have  been  put  otf  for 
fuller  preparation. 

The  Congress  which  declared  war,  appropriated  without  taxa- 
tion about  ton  millions  to  increased  armies,  three  millions  to  the 
navy,  half  a  million  for  the  defence  of  maritime  frontiers,  three 
hundred  thousand  dollars  for  repairing  ships  of  war,  two  hundred 
thousand  dollars  a  year  for  three  years  to  purchase  ship  timber ; 
directed  the  enlistment  of  ten  additional  regiments  of  infantry, 
two  of  artillery  and  one  of  dragoons ;  authorized  the  president 
to  embody  fifty  thousand  volunteers,  for  which  purpose  a  million 
of  dollars  was  assigned;  appropriated  more  than  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  towardsthe  expenses  of  six  companies  of  mounted 
rangers,  directed  a  detachment  of  one  hundred  thousand  men 
from  the  militia,  organized  a  corps  of  artificers,  regulated  the 
ordnance,  and  otherwise  inaugurated  hostilities  at  an  expense  far 
beyond  the  regular  income  of  government.  Most  of  these  pre- 
liminary enactments  preceding  or  accompanying  the  declaration 
of  war,  required  that  the  treasury  should  be  replenished  by  the 
next  Congress,  as  well  as  tlie  magazines,  by  such  stable  and  per- 
manent revenue  as  would,  at  least,  pay  the  interest  of  whatever 
sums  might  be  borrowed;  modern  wars  being  mostly  carried  on  by 
loans,  and  guarantee  of  eventual  reimbursement  of  the  principal. 
To  this  object  the  whole  of  a  short  session  was  devoted,  except- 
ing the  time  consumed  by  Mr.  Webster's  resolutions,  which  will 
be  considered,  and  by  other  subjects  of  private  or  subordinate 
public  importance.  The  season  of  the  year  was  not  favourable. 
The  weather  at  Washington  was  bilious.  The  president  was  for 
some  time  confined  to  bed  by  illness,  and  though  1  believe  no  mem- 
ber died  during  that  sultry  and  anxious  session,  yet  it  bore  hard 
on  those  unaccustomed  to  so  relaxing  a  climate.  Local  diver- 
gence of  opinion  obtained,  even  among  the  supporters  of  the  war, 
as  to  the  best  objects  of  taxation,  and  the  best  mode  of  taxing 
VOL.  I. — 10 


■  :ii' 


X 


.  Hi 


110 


CONGRESS. 


[JUNE,  1813. 


|^.'.f 


them  with  least  inconvenience.  But  it  was  no  time  to  differ  about 
minor  matters.  The  war  occurrences,  of  which  every  day's  post 
brcdght  news,  were,  perhaps  fortunately,  nearly  all  disastrous; 
Canadian  reverses,  marauding  incursions  in  Maryland,  .'Jeia- 
ware  and  Virginia,  all  around  Washington,  at  least  no  success  on 
the  western  frontier,  and  the  check  to  naval  triumphs  by  the  loss 
of  the  ill-fated  frigate  Chesapeake,  the  whole  horizon  overcast, 
with  scarce  a  gleam  of  sunshine;  all,  as  if  by  overruling  Provi- 
dence, operated  to  bind  us  firmly  together,  to  subdue  murmurs, 
to  animate  exertions,  and  to  substitute  energetic  action  for  idle 
recrimination.  The  majorities  on  some  of  the  details  of  the  tax- 
bills  were  sometimes  very  smftll,  more  than  once  only  one  ;  a 
vital  question  on  the  still-tax  was  decided  by  the  speaker's  casting 
vote.  Southern  and  eastern  prepossessions  often  came  into  hard 
collision.  But  on  every  final  question  the  preponderance  was 
imposing,  thirty  and  forty  or  more  votes,  and  the  tax  laws  went 
to  the  country  with  all  the  effect  of  such  decision.  If  there  was 
detrimental  delay  in  their  passage,  at  any  rate,  the  system  was 
better  digested  by  it. 

Langdon  Cheves,  chairman  of  the  committee  of  Ways  and 
Means,  when  it  was  proposed,  during  the  twelfth  Congress,  was  a 
man  of  information,  thoroughly  resolved  on  the  absolute  neces- 
sity of  promptly  imposing  adequate  taxes.  The  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  Mr.  Gallatin,  was  then  at  his  post  to  afford  his  import- 
ant advice  in  devising  a  plan,  even  though  he  might  not  choose 
to  remain  and  aid  in  its  enactment.  The  House  in  1813  had 
thus  the  benefit  of  the  labours  of  the  committee  and  secretary 
in  1312,  whose  system  was  adopted  without  much  change. 

It  is  so  general  in  the  old  world,  and  so  common  even  in  the  new, 
to  decry  the  order,  stability  and  energy  of  republican  government, 
particularly  the  legislative  department,  above  all  its  popular 
branch,  supposed  to  be  least  capable  of  methodical  transaction 
of  business  for  the  exigencies  of  war,  that  it  is  worth  while  to 
dwell  on  the  refutation  of  such  misapprehension,  manifested  by 
the  proceedings  of  this  short  session  of  Congress.  Impeded  and 
thwarted  as  the  executive  was  in  many  things,  and  tardy  as  Con- 
gress were  in  coming  to  the  performance  of  their  duties,  the 
twelfth  Congress  which  declared  war,  leaving  to  their  successors 
of  the  thirteenth  Congress  the  responsibility  of  providing  for  car- 
rying it  on ;  it  is  nevertheless  the  history  of  that  conjuncture,  that 


CHAP.  III.] 


CONGRESS, 


111 


not  only  did  Congress  do  as  much  as  could  be  expected  from  any 
government,  but  the  House  of  Representatives  was  more  forward 
than  the  Senate  in  so  doing.  Ail  the  tax  bills  necessarily  origi- 
nated in  that  House,  and  were  there  matured,  though  somewhat 
altered  in  the  Senate.  Some  war  measures,  an  act  much  con- 
tested for  naturalizing  certain  alien  enemies,  some  of  the  army 
and  pension  bills,  the  law  prohibiting  the  use  of  foreign  licenses 
for  vessels,  that  relinquishing  the  claims  of  goverimient  to  goods 
captiu'ed  by  privateers,  and  one  or  two  others  of  no  great  import- 
ance, came  from  the  Senate.  Hut  the  burthen  of  creative  and 
diligent  legislation  was  assumed  and  borne  by  the  popular  branch; 
less  orderly  or  tranquil  than  one  so  much  fewer  in  number  as  the 
Senate,  but  also  less  selfish  and  factious,  more  useful  in  time  of 
need,  more  reliable  for  republican  government.  The  Senate  of 
the  United  States  may  be  a  litter  theatre  for  personal  ambition, 
but  in  all  emergencies,  the  House  of  Representatives  will  proba- 
bly be  that  of  more  patriotic  and  productive  legislation.  VVliat- 
ever  may  be  modern  comparisons  between  the  two  Houses,  the 
war  of  1812  left  no  reason  to  prefer  that  farthest  removed  from 
the  people.  It  is  a  common  mistake  of  political  theorists  to  sup. 
pose  that  American  senators,  like  the  English  nobility,  have  pas- 
sions different  from  tlie  members  of  a  popular  assembly ;  less  lust 
of  power,  ambition  and  avarice;  that  they  require  more  experi- 
ence, knowledge  and  stability  of  character ;  that  the  Senate  of 
the  United  States,  as  has  been  said  by  a  learned  jurist,  guards 
better  than  the  House  of  Representatives  the  states  from  usurpa- 
tion of  their  authority,  and  the  people  from  becoming  victims  of 
paroxysms  of  legislation.  The  fancied  resemblance  of  the  Ame- 
rican Senate  to  those  of  Greece*,  Rome,  or  England,  is  but  a  fancy. 
As  check  and  balance,  the  mediun:  ni'  more  deliberation,  the  Se- 
nate is  an  indispensible  department.  But  the  judicial  and  some 
other  attribiUes  bestowed  u[)on  it  by  the  constitution,  have  not 
realized  the  antici|)ations  of  its  projectors.  Judge  Story,  in  his 
Commentaries,  rather  censures  what  he  calls  Madison's  subdued 
praise  of  it  in  the  Federalist,  and  indication  of  more  doubt  than 
experience  justifies.  That  doubt  was  the  forethought  of  a  pro- 
vident founder  in  his  closet,  devising  a  govermnent  of  which  his 
own  judgment  was  afterwards  confirmed,  in  trying  circumstances 
under  his  own  administration ;  for  the  war  of  1812,  especially 
as  respected  the  appointing  power  of  the  executive,  both  at  home 


V  1' 


113 


CONGRESS, 


[JUNE,  1813. 


■jr.  * 


and  for  foreign  service,  was  much  embarrassed  and  annoyed  by 
men  bers  of  the  Senate  of  the  war  party,  whose  constituent  states 
supported  Madison's  administration.  Taken  altogether,  however, 
Congress,  in  1813,  executed  its  important  functions  with  intelli- 
gence, promptitude  and  liberality. 

An  English  cotemporaneous  historical  account  thus  sustains 
these  views: — " The  extra  session  of  Congress, which  concluded 
in  August,  conducted  its  business  with  unaccustomed  dispatch, 
and  with  a  degree  of  unanimity  proving  that,  however  reluctant 
a  people  may  be  to  commence  a  war,  when  actually  engaged  in  it, 
and  especially  v/hen  it  is  brought  to  their  own  doors,  they  will 
generally  concur  in  measures  rendered  necessary  by  the  circum- 
stances. The  establishment  of  a  system  of  war-taxes  capable 
of  defraying  the  interest  of  the  existing  debt  and  of  future  loans, 
was  the  principal  business  of  the  meeting ;  and  though  there 
were  considerable  differences  of  opinion  as  to  the  fittest  objects 
of  taxation,  the  majority  gave  their  support  to  the  measures  pro- 
posed by  the  committee  of  Ways  and  Means.  A  variety  of  acts 
were  also  passed  relative  to  the  prosecution  and  conduct  of  the 
war,  and  the  provision  for  widows  and  orphans ;  and  greater 
encouragement  was  given  to  privateers  in  respect  to  prizes.  An 
act  also  passed  conformably  to  the  president's  former  recommen- 
dation, prohibiting  the  use  of  British  commercial  licenses.  From 
nil  these  measures  may  be  seen  the  rapid  approach  to  the  condition 
of  an  old  belligerent  by  a  new  state,  the  peculiar  felicity  of  whose 
situation  appeared  to  be  that  of  being  placed  beyond  the  sphere 
of  perpetual  hostility  v^hich  involves  the  greatest  portion  of  the 
world." 

So  well,  indeed,  did  free  institutions  and  republican  govern- 
ment work  in  a  war  begun  by  a  country  unprepared  for  it, 
against  another  so  much  better  mechanically  prepared,  that  no 
contemplative  mind  can  refer  to  that  conjuncture,  and  the  expe- 
rience of  all  wars,  both  in  America  and  Europe,  since  the  Ameri- 
can declaration  of  independence,  without  at  least  the  pleasing 
doubt  whether  freedom  from  burdensome  taxation  and  much 
restraint  does  not  prepare  a  people  for  hostilities  better  than  if 
formidably  armed,  borne  down  by  taxes,  and  unmanned  by  sub- 
jection. The  revenue  of  the  United  States  during  the  years  1812 — 
'1.3— '14  was  never  more  than  about  one-sixth  of  their  expendi- 
ture, the  other  five-sixths  being  supplied  by  loans  and  treasury 


CHAP.  III.] 


ORGANIZATION. 


113 


notes;  none  of  it  reaching  the  hands  of  those  to  whom  it  was 
paid  but  through  the  worst  of  all  taxation,  depreciated  currency. 
Yet  the  loans  were  obtained  without  much  difficulty, the  taxes  paid 
without  any  difficulty  at  all,  and  within  a  few  years  after  the  war, 
the  whole  war  debt  of  some  eighty  millions  of  dollars,  together 
with  forty-ftve  millions  before  due,  was  all  extinguished.     War 
begun  without  army,  navy,  or  taxes,  made  them  all  as  it  went. 
The  beginning,  indeed,  was  disastrous,  but  must  it  always  be  so? 
Were  not  most  of  its  disasters  ascribable  to  veteran  officers?     In 
peace  prepare  for  war,  is  a  maxim  which  has  become  a  political 
proverb.    Yet  a  people  crushed  by  taxes,  taken  from  home  where 
patriotism  has  its  source  in  the  domestic  aftections,  to  be  demo- 
ralized in  garrisons  and  disciplined  in  mercenary  servitude,  can 
hardly  be  as  well  prepared  for  war  as  those  animated  by  the 
spirit  of  liberty  and  equality,  the  possession  of  property  and  par- 
ticipation in  government.     Great  Britain  is  never  mechanically 
as  well  prepared  for  hostilities  as  France,  Austria,  and  Russia. 
In  Europe,  moreover,  many  centuries  of  inveterate  habits  of 
national  hostility  may  require  the  maintenance  of  large  standing 
armies,  wliile  in  this  isolated  republic  the  cheap  price  paid  for 
long  peace  and  perfect  freedom,  may  he  less  military  organiza- 
tion, taxation,  and  subordination.     Within  the   last  seventy  or 
eighty  years,  since  the  sovereignty  of  the  people  has  become 
coujuion,  war  has  seldom  been  successful  without  popular  good- 
will, has  seldom  failed  with  that  reinforcement.     Nearly  every 
much  taxed  and  well  armed  nation  of  Europe,  all  the  most 
powerful  empires,  have  in  turn  been  conquered,  while  popular 
enthusiasm  has  been  the  last  resort  of  those  who  most  inculcate 
the  indispensable  necessity  of  armed  organization.    The  period  of 
our  own  war  saw  the  vast  Russian  empire  reduced  to  its  mere 
elements,  the  emperor,  a  man  of  talents  and  popularity,  dependent 
upon  the  lower  classes  of  his  people  for  defence  against  half 
a  million   of  completely  disciplined  soldiery,  led  by  the  most 
consummate  commander  of  modern  times ;  and  shortly  after,  the 
armies  which  under  that  commander  had  taken  nearly  every 
capital  in  Europe,  submitting  to  the  conqueror's  law  in  their 
own  capital,  that  law  imposed  by  foreign  volunteers  and  militia. 
Exhausted  and  disheartened  people,  however  well  armed  and 
commanded,  never  triumplied  in  the  end,  however  striking  their 

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114 


PENSIONS. 


[JUNE,  1813, 


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.;> 


commencement  of  hostilities.  Aroused  and  martial  nations  over- 
came those  most  disciplined.  In  Spain  the  mere  peasantry,  if 
Spanish  accounts  instead  of  English  are  believed,  expelled  the 
most  accomplished  soldiery  and  officers  of  the  world.  The  war 
of  1812,  among  its  lessons,  teaches,  that  liberty  and  equality  are 
at  least  schools  of  preparation  and  discipline  in  which  both  armies 
and  navies  are  prepared  for  great  exploits. 

An  act  of  Congress,  at  the  first  session  o^  1813,  passed  both 
Houses,  without  dissent,  of  probably  indisputable  martial  influ- 
ences, whatever  costly  corollaries  it  may  have  led  to :  to  pro- 
vide for  the  orphans  and  widows  of  militia  slain  or  disabled  iu 
public  service.  A  pension  system  by  which  Congress  dispenses 
bounties  from  the  national  purse,  if  they  are  individuated,  seems 
to  consist  with  all  good  government,  however  liable  to  abuses. 
Its  restriction  to  military,  excluding  civil  service,  is  a  monarchical 
relic  which  common  sense  may  not  at  once  appreciate ;  especially 
while  grants  equivalent  to  pensions  for  civil  services  have  been 
indirectly  obtained  for  nearly  every  president  who  needed  them, 
those  pauicularly  least  favourable  to  the  system.  The  constitu- 
tionality of  military  pensions  lies  buried  under  such  heaps  of  pre- 
cedents as  overwhelm  opposition  to  them,  while  such  men  as 
Jefferson  and  Madison  are  obliged  to  take  what  they  get,  if  any 
thing,  by  some  indirect  donation  for  the  purchase  of  a  library  or 
a  volume  of  mai.uscripts. 

Analogous  to  the  pension  principle  is  another  act  of  this  ses- 
sion, parent  of  many  spurious  ofisprings;  making  provision  for 
wagons  and  teams  destroyed  in  warfare;  prolific  of  impi'oper 
gratuities,  burdensome  to  the  national  budget,  and  polluting  legis- 
lation ;  yet,  without  abuse,  just  and  proper  indemnity  for  losses 
in  public  service.  A  young  and  promising  member,  afterwards 
Post-Master  General,  and  now  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of 
the  United  States,  John  M 'Lean,  advocated  this  bill  with  proper 
limitations  to  objects  taken  into  public  service  for  the  occasions 
of  warfare.  Thomas  Grosvenor  attempted  to  invalidate  by  ex- 
tending it  to  all  property  destroyed  by  the  enemy,  which  though 
rejected  by  the  House,  disclosed  abuses  of  the  practice,  since 
more  successfully  effected. 

Congress,  at  this  session,  enacted  what  the  common  law  of 
war  already  ruled,  that  American  property  protected  by  enemy's 


■  ■   J  ■    A 


CHAP.  III.]        ENEMY'S    LICENSES     FOR    VESSELS. 


115 


license  is  to  be  forfeited ;  superadding  pecuniary  penalties  and 
personal  punishments.  The  Supreme  Court,  unanimously  of 
this  opinion,  took  the  broad  ground  that  mere  sailing  under 
enemy's  license,  without  regard  to  the  object  of  the  voyage  or 
port  of  destination,  constitutes,  of  itself,  an  illegal  act,  subjecting 
the  vessel  and  cargo  to  confiscation.  The  act  of  Congress  super- 
added further  inflictions.  "  It  is  an  attempt,"  said  the  court,  "  by 
one  individual  of  a  country  at  war,  to  clothe  himself  with  neutral 
character  by  license  of  the  other  belligerent,  and  thus  separate 
himself  from  the  common  character  of  his  country." 

Extending  this  foundation  of  prize-law,  on  the  16th  July,  the 
Senate  sent  to  the  House,  by  their  venerable  secretary,  James 
Allyne  Otis,  who  had  held  that  place  by  constant  re-elections 
from  April,  1789,  at  the  first  session  of  the  Senate,  throughout 
thirteen  Congresses  till  October,  1814,  when  a  resolution  attested 
his  deserts,  an  act  confirmatory  of  it,  which,  as  it  finally  passed 
ours,  with  General  Hopkins,  of  Kentucky,  in  the  chair,  inflicted 
penalties  of  twice  the  value  of  the  vessel  and  cargo  and  a  fine 
of  from  one  to  five  thousand  dollars  upon  any  citizen  or  in- 
habitant of  the  United  States,  obtaining  or  using,  either  directly 
or  indirectly,  a  license,  pass,  or  other  instrument  granted  by 
the  government  of  Great  Britain,  any  officer  or  agent  thereof 
for  the  protection  of  any  ship  or  merchandize,  on  the  sea  or  else- 
where, making  it  the  duty  of  the  commanders  of  all  public  and 
private  armed  ves.sels  of  the  United  States  to  capture  such  British 
licensed  property  sailing  under  the  enemy's  flag  as  prize,  and 
granting  it  accordingly  to  the  captors  on  judicial  condemnation. 

Intercourse  of  ail  kinds  between  Americans  and  British  is  so 
natural  and  common  that  it  is  difficult  to  repress  its  continual 
recurrence,  even  when  the  law  of  war  renders  it  treasonable. 
Habit,  cupidity,  and  disaflfection,  the  loose  loyalty  of  long  peace 
and  lucrative  pursuits,  caused  mischievous  relaxation  of  the 
inflexible  rigours  of  hostility  indispensable  to  success  in  war; 
whose  sternest  hardships  should  never  be  dispensed  with  but  by 
sovereign  authority.  British  functionaries,  admirals,  consuls  and 
others,  and  Americans  addicted  to  trade,  were  extremely  given 
to  illicit  gain  by  unlawful  dealings  of  enemies.  The  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States,  by  one  of  its  judges,  Johnson,  forci- 
bly declared  that,  in  war,  nations  are  known  to  each  other  only 
by  their  armed  exterior.    It  prolongs  and  aggravates  the  sufTer- 


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116 


PUIVATEERS. 


[JUNE,  1813. 


**■■■ 


.,:>' 


ings  of  hostilitios,  to  permit  individuals  to  withdraw  from  their 
stern  comnuuids  by  partial,  personal,  and  temporary  pacification. 
There  should  be  no  individual  truce  or  advantage.  All  must 
strike  at  all,  and  each  at  each,  however  painful  the  blow,  when- 
ever government  so  directs.  Wherefore  the  bill  prohibiting  liritish 
licenses,  after  rejecting  attempts  by  Mr.  Pickering,  Mr.  Pitkin, 
and  Mr.  Oakley,  to  frustrate  the  measure,  by  comprehending 
French  licenses,  and  licenses  from  all  nations,  in  the  interdict  of 
the  Jiritish,  became  a  law  by  the  votes  of  all  the  supporters  of 
the  war  against  those  of  all  its  opponents. 

By  act  of  the  2Gth  March,  1812,  concerning  letters  of  marque, 
prizes,  and  prize  goods,  the  twelfth  Congress  appropriated  two 
per  cent,  of  the  prize  money  of  captured  vessels,  and  of  salvage 
on  those  recaptured,  by  the  privateers  of  the  United  States,  to  be 
paid  to  collectors  of  customs  and  consuls,  as  a  fund  for  the  sup- 
port and  maintenance  of  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  slain, 
wounded  and  disabled  on  board  privateers,  in  engagements  with 
the  enemy.  By  subsequent  act  of  the  2d  August,  of  the  same 
session,  this  bounty  was  extended  to  death  or  disability  in  the 
line  of  duty.  On  the  .SOth  June,  1813,  Hugh  Nelson,  chairman 
of  the  Naval  committee,  reported  amendments  to  that  act,  which 
were  considered  on  the  19th  July,  in  committee  of  the  Whole, 
Nathaniel  Macon  in  the  chair,  and  next  day  adopted  without 
alteration  or  opposition,  directing  the  two  per  cent,  to  be  paid  to 
the  secretary  of  the  treasury,  instead  of  collectors  and  consuls, 
and  requiring  the  treasury  to  place  privateersmen  on  the  pension 
list  on  the  same  footing  with  officers  and  men  of  the  navy.  On  the 
21st  July,  Mr.  Nelson,  from  the  Naval  committee,  reported  a  bill 
allowing  a  bounty  to  every  privateersman,  upon  which  the  House 
went  into  committee  of  the  Whole  next  day.  General  Desha  in 
the  chair,  and  passed  it  on  the  29th  July,  Mr.  Kennedy  in  the 
chair,  the  28th,  when  the  amendments  were  adopted.  By  this 
law  every  privateersman  was  entitled  to  twenty-five  dollars  for 
every  prisoner  captured,  brought  into  port,  and  delivered  to  an 
authorized  agent  of  the  United  States.  Next  session  tlie  bounty 
was  increased  from  twenty-five  to  one  hundred  dollars.  On  the 
23d  July,  the  Naval  committee  reported  a  bill  reducing  duties  on 
goods  captured  by  privateers,  which  became  a  law  on  the  2d 
August,  so  far  as  to  allow  a  deduction  of  thirty-three  and  a  third 
per  cent,  on  the  amoimt  of  legal  duties.    On  the  3d  July,  Senate 


CHAP.  III.] 


PRIVATEERS. 


117 


sent  the  House  a  bill  to  relinquish  the  claim  of  the  United  Stales 
to  goods  captured  by  privateers,  on  which  we  went  into  commit- 
tee of  the  Whole  on  the  10th  July,  William  R.  King  in  the  chair, 
afterwards  secretary  of  legation  in  Russia,  then  for  many  years 
senator  from  Alabama,  now  American  minister  in  France,  and 
passed  it  two  days  afterwards,  without  amendment,  notwith- 
standing Mr.  Pitkin's  motion  for  its  indefinite  postponement. 

By  such  progressive  provisions  a  tower  of  naval  strength 
was  restored,  which  disuse  and  discouragement  had  impaired. 
The  first  treaty  of  the  United  States  struck  at  this  arm  by 
stipulating  that  no  citizen  or  inhabitant  of  the  United  States, 
on  pain  of  punishment  as  a  pirate,  should  apply  for,  or  take 
from,  any  prince  or  state  with  whom  France  might  be  at  war, 
any  commission  or  letter  of  marque  for  arming  a  vessel  to  act 
as  p»*ivateer  against  French  subjects  or  property.  Franklin's 
long  residence  in  Europe,  and  providence  for  the  peaceable  de- 
velopment of  America,  disgusted  him  with  the  frequent  cause- 
less, and  dreadful  warfare  of  the  old  world ;  and  enamoured  him 
with  projects  of  perpetual  peace.  One  of  the  means  of  it  was 
to  abolish  private  hostilities  by  sea,  restricting  them  to  war  ves- 
sels ;  not  foreseeing  that  at  no  distant  day,  privateering  would 
be  the  cheapest  and  most  efficient  of  this  country's  armaments 
to  vindicate  the  freedom  of  the  ocean.  Maritime  liberty  and 
equality,  peace  by  sea,  democracy  of  the  ocean,  like  perfectly 
free  international  trade,  have  never  yet  been  reconciled  with 
the  practice  and  prejudices  of  mankind,  segregated  in  different 
nations.  Several  of  the  early  treaties  of  the  United  States 
adopted  all  these  benevolent  principles.  Great  Britain  has 
always  resisted  them;  the  last  time  in  1823,  when  President 
Monroe  made  the  proposal,  which  was  unequivocally  rejected. 
Theories  of  commerce  unrestricted,  war  without  private  hos- 
tilities, and  by  voluntary  instead  of  compulsory  troops,  which 
harmonize  with  humane  and  republican  institutions,  have  the 
practice  of  ages  to  contend  with.  In  less  than  three  years  of  our 
war,  the  captures  by  sea  from  England,  besides  56  vessels  of 
war,  mounting  886  cannons,  were  2369  merchant  vessels,  with 
800  cannons,  354  ships,  610  brigs,  520  schooners,  and  135  sloops, 
besides  750  vessels  of  various  sizes  recaptured,  altogether  2425 
vessels,  with  incalculable  amount  of  cargoes,  stores,  provisions 
and  equipments,  and  many  thousand  prisoners  of  war.    Most  of 


'iii: 

*-•' 

M 

•■!t*i'j 


118 


SECRET     SESSION, 


[JULY,  1813. 


P'i-;!!' 


it 


these  prizes  being  made  by  privateers,  this  grand  total  of  belli- 
gerent annoyance  and  emohniicnts  by  armaments  costing  tlie 
pubUc  nothing,  afibrd  a  vohune  of  argnment  against  rolinqnish- 
ment  of  such  resource  for  war,  wiiatever  humanity  and  policy 
may  say  for  that  self  denial. 

On  the  15th  of  July,  181.3,  late  in  the  afternoon,  after  a  groat 
deal  of  Inisines.s  had  i)een  done  that  morning,  the  House  went 
into  secret  session  on  proceedings  so  indicative  of  the  state  of 
things  then,  as  to  deserve  some  account  of  ihern.  Alter  a  mid- 
summer day's  work,  on  motion  of  Colonel  Philip  Stuart,  at  lialf- 
past  three  o'clock  it  was  cleared  of  all  persons  except  the  mem- 
bers, clerk,  sergeant-at-arms  and  door-keeper,  and  tin;  doors  closed. 
When  confidential  communications  are  received  from  tlic  presi- 
dent, the  rule  is  to  clear  the  House  during  their  reading  and  the 
proceedings  thereon.  When  the  speaker  or  a  member  informs 
the  House  that  he  has  communications  to  make  which  lie  con- 
ceives ought  to  be  kept  secret,  the  House  is  cleared  till  the  com- 
numication  is  made,  then  determines  whether  the  communication 
requires  secrecy,  and  takes  order  accordingly.  Colonel  Stuart, 
on  whose  motion  we  went  iiUo  conclave,  was  a  gentleman  well 
advanced  in  life,  had  served,  if  I  do  not  mistake,  in  the  war  of 
the  Revolution,  and  represented  a  Maryland  district  contiguous 
to  Washington,  He  was  not  a  speaking  or  active  member,  but 
a  country  gentleman,  of  the  federal  opposition,  which  was  much 
less  bitter  south  of  the  Delaware,  though  Maryland  was  a  strongly 
federal  state  throughout  the  war.  His  resolution  was  preluded 
by  a  preamble  affirming  that  the  seat  of  government,  from  the 
unprepared  and  defenceless  state  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  was 
in  imminent  danger  if  attacked  ;  the  licet  of  the  enemy  was  ;m- 
derstood  to  be  within  a  few  hours  sail  of  the  capita!,  the  immense 
value  of  public  property  exposed  to  destruction,  and  tho  great 
value  of  the  public  records,  rendered  it  important  that  invasion 
of  the  metropolis  should  be  met  with  vigour  and  repelled  ;  where- 
fore a  distribution  of  such  arms  as  were  in  possession  of  the  go- 
vernment within  the  District  should  be  immediately  placed  in  the 
hands  of  all  able-bodied  men  of  the  District,  and  of  such  mem- 
bers of  the  House  as  were  willing  to  receive  them,  to  act  against 
the  enemy  in  any  manner  not  incompatible  with  their  public 
duties. 

There  were  then  none   of  that  large  corps  of  licensed  and 


CHAP.  III.] 


SECRET    SESSION'. 


119 


licentious  news-mongers  at  Washington,  since  established  in  the 
capitol,as  letter  writers  for  variuas  public  journals ;  the  National 
Intelligencer,  the  only  daily  paper,  was  nearly  suspended,  both  the 
editors  and  seven  of  the  workmen  having  gone  down  with  the 
volunteer  companies,  together  with  all  the  regular  troops  an^l 
volunteers  that  could  be  mustered  from  Washington, Georgetown 
and  that  neig'hbourhood,  to  the  number  of  about  3000  men,  to 
face  the  foe;  aho  General  Armstrong,  Secretary  of  War;  Colo 
nel  Monroe,  Secretary  of  State ;  Captain  Jones,  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  ;  and  many  others  as  volunteers.     All  business  was  sus- 
pended.   Most  of  the  men  took  up  arms.    The  British  advancing 
vessels  were  supposed  to  be  some  miles  below,  on  their  way 
to  Washington.     The  Adams  vessel  of  war,  commanded   by 
Lieutenant  Wadsworth,  Fort  Warburlon  and  other  defensible 
points  were  disposed  of  as  was  thought  best  for  resistance,  and 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  slept  on  board  of  that  vessel.    At  the 
same  time  British  vessels  were  moving  up  the  Chesapeake  to- 
wards Annapolis,  besides  those  ascending  the  Potomac  towards 
Washington.     Some  skirmishing  took  place  at  Swan's  Point, 
where  one  or  two  of  our  militia  were  killed  just  before  Colonel 
Monroe  got  on  the  ground  with  a  troop  of. horse;  he  being  al- 
ways among  the  most  active  and  indefatigable  of  our  volunteers. 
There  were  some  companies  and  parts  of  regiments  of  the  regn- 
ular  infantry  and  artillery  together  with  the  volunteers  stationed 
wherever  thought  best.     The  enemy's  squadron,  as  was  under- 
stood, in  two  divisions,  the  first  under  Admiral  Cookburn,the  se- 
cond under  Admiral  Warren,  were  carefully  sounding  and  slowly 
sailing  up  the  Potomac,  amounting,  according  to  our  tidings,  to 
six  or  seven  line  of  battle  ships,  three  frigates,  a  brig,  three 
schooners,  and  several  transports  with  land  forces,  taking  islands 
and  threatening  to  visit  Washington.    Batteries  and  other  defen- 
sive works  were  going  up  under  the  superintendence  of  Colonel 
Wadsworth,  an  old  officer  of  artillery,  at  Greenleaf's  Point  and 
the  navy  yard.     Such  militia  and  other  troops  as  remained  were 
V  -illed  every  morning  at  dawn ;  with  perpetual  appeals  to  the 
spirit  of  the  people,  against  what  the  public  prints  stigmatized  as 
the  enemy's  character,  mode  of  warfare,  and  black  barbarities. 
This  state  of  alarm  and  excitement  continued  about  a  week, 
during  which  that  attack  was  apprehended  which  thirteen  months 
afterwards  laid  the  public  edifices  of  Washington  in  ruins.  Some 


"^^^^W- 


I. 


''■■■■■Ivil 


Ik 


120 


SECRET    SESSION. 


[JULY,  1813. 


<■•> 


:;>' 


of  the  black  barbarities  of  the  English,  were  blazoned  in  the 
Richmond  Enquirer,  National  Intelligencer,  and  other  publica- 
tions, with  particulars  shocking  to  be  even  alluded  to. 

Our  situation  was  discouraging.  From  the  beginning,  the 
war  had  gone  continually  against  us,  except  at  sea,  where  we 
were  overwhelmed  by  numbers.  There  was  too  much  reason 
to  apprehend  that  the  Urited  States  were  no  match  for  Great 
Britain.  Defeated  and  disgraced  everywhere.  Congress  was  to 
impose  the  burthen  of  taxes  on  a  divided  people,  who  had  been 
taught  by  leaders  of  the  war  party  to  look  upon  a  tax  gatherer 
as  a  thief,  if  not  to  shoot  him  as  a  burglar.  The  sentiment  was 
universal,  that  we  had  not  one  military  man  in  whom  either 
the  army  or  the  country  could  place  confidence.  The  capture 
of  the  unlucky  Chesapeake  seemed  to  wake  us,  as  it  were, 
from  a  dream  of  unexpected  sea  comfort,  of  which  the  flood 
was  over  and  the  ebb  set  in.  The  country  was  at  the  lowest 
point  of  depression,  where  fear  is  too  apt  to  introduce  despair. 
In  Senate,  the  State  of  New  York,  a  principal  theatre  of  mili- 
tary operations,  was  represented,  in  part,  by  a  Senator,  Oba- 
diah  German;  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  nearly  unanimous  for 
the  war,  by  another,  Michael  I^eib,  popular  there  and  active 
everywhere ;  the  State  of  Maryland  by  a  third.  General  Samuel 
Smith,  a  rich  merchant  of  great  experience,  address  and  influ- 
ence ;  and  the  State  of  Virginia  by  a  fourth  senator,  Wm.  B.  Giles, 
the  most  expert  debater  and  one  of  the  ablest  members  of  that 
vital  branch  of  both  executive  and  legis!.  ve  government,  all 
inimical  to  Madison  and  his  administration  ;  besides  several  other 
senators  nominally  of  the  war  party,  but  not  well  disposed  to  the 
president,  who  was  opposed  by  a  large  and  powerful  party  in 
that  body,  in  which  combinations  frequently  defeated  his  most 
important  measures.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Mr.  Gallatin, 
was  gone  to  Europe  to  solicit  the  only  relief  he  considered  prac- 
ticable for  the  country.  The  merely  perfunctory  duties  of  the 
treasury  department,  owing  to  the  president's  hardly  justifiable 
adhesion  to  Mr.  Gallatin  as  its  head,  were  temporarily  performed 
by  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Captain  Jones,  who  with  respecta- 
ble abilities  could  hardly  fulfil  the  arduous  duties  of  his  own 
station.  The  Post  Master  General,  Mr.  Granger,  was  so  much 
opposed  to  the  president,  that  he  found  it  necessary  not  long 


CHAP.  III.] 


SECRET    SESRION. 


12] 


after  to  remove  him  from  office  and  put  Governor  Meigs  of  Ohio, 
in  his  place.    The  Secretaries  ot  State  and  War,  Colonel  Monroe 
and  General  Armstrong,  were  said  to  be  breathing  that  rivalship 
for  the  presidential  succession  which  put  the  former  in  the  tatter's 
place,  when  Armstrong  was  tumultuously  driven  from  Washing- 
ton the  night  after  its  capture  by  tiie  enemy.    The  executive  de- 
partments of  government  were  out  of  joint  with  each  other,  and 
many  of  them  out  of  favour  with  most  of  the  advocates  of  the 
war.    There  was  a  large,  bold,  and  some  of  them  unscrupulous 
minority,  without,  however,  any  treacherous  disloyalty  that  I 
know  of,  beyond  the  usual  struggle  of  parties  to  supplant  each 
other.    Some  members,  no  doubt,  countenanced  that  extreme 
opposition  which  afterwards  centered  in  the  Hartford  Convention, 
whatever  its  undivulged  designs  may  have  been.     But  there  was 
neither  despair  nor  more  than  party  dissension  at  any  moment 
in  either  House  of  Congress,  less  faction  in  the  minority  and  more 
unanimity  in  the  majority,  than  would  have  been  the  case  under 
less  trying  circumstances.    The  disastrous  commencement  of  the 
war  was  not  without  the  uses  of  adversity.   From  a  distant  point 
of  time  we  may  look  back  upon  the  external  pressure  and  inter- 
nal resistance  of  that  crisis  with  gratitude  to  the  overruling  Pro- 
vidence which,  by  what  seemed  calamitous  occurrences,  prepared 
the  country  for  happy  results.    Next  to  Divine  Providence,  this 
historical  acknowledgment  is  due  to  that  popular  providence, 
that  much  despised,  abused  and  undervalued  mass  of  the  people, 
a  considerable,  however  fluctuating,  yet  constant  majority  of  the 
American  nation,  the  least  calculating  but  truest  and  firmest  of 
all,  who  under  every  tribulation  upheld  and  cheered  their  lineal 
offspring,  a  majority  in  the  House  of  Representatives.     Those  on 
whom  the  taxes  bore  hardest,  whose  livelihoods  were  most  inter- 
rupted, whose  names  would  probably  never  be  blazoned  to  ce- 
lebrity— like  the  common  sailor  and  soldier  who  bore  the  brunt 
of  war,  actuated  more  by  patriotic  impulse  than  selfish  reason — 
they  never  deserted  or  faltered.    «  Who  loves  the  people  ?"  said 
Voltaire,  a  greater  architect  than  Bonaparte  of  that  prodigious 
revolution  w  i..jh  restored  their  sovereignty,  notwithstanding  all 
its  abuses  and  aberrations.  Yet  without  coincidence  with  that  least 
selfish,  though  least  refined  mass,  without  even  party  spirit  so 
much  deprecated,  what  state  can  be  free,  what  free  state  great, 
what  statesman  strong  ? 
VOL.  I. — 1 1 


122 


8KCRET    SESSIOtf. 


[JULY,  ISIt 


.1*1' 


J»! 


I'-'"  i 


Among  tho  fervid  and  the  fearless  to  whom  no  small  share  of 
the  popular  success  of  that  war  is  attributable  under  extremely 
trying  circumstances,  none  is  entitled  to  more  grateful  recoller 
tion  than  ihe  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  Henry 
Clay.  Ardent  and  bold  in  support  of  the  war  and  MadisonN 
administration  of  it ;  prompt,  clear,  cogent  and  authoritative  in 
the  chair;  eloquent,  forcible,  aggressive  in  speech;  impulsive  and 
overbearing,  yet  adroit  and  commanding  in  conduct,  resolute  and 
daring  in  all  things,  without  much  learning,  study  or  polish,  he 
was  then,  in  the  flower  of  his  age  and  robust  health,  the  power- 
ful champion  of  whatever  he  undertook,  and  master  spirit  where- 
ever  he  acted.  His  descent  from  presiding  over  the  representa- 
tion of  popular  sovereignty  was  the  first  step  of  his  declension. 

We  had  hardly  the  door  closed  in  secret  session  before  John 
Rhea,  of  Tennessee,  came  within  ten  votes  of  carrying  his  motion 
to  lay  Colonel  Stuart's  resolution  on  the  table,  which  Rhea 
denounced  as  a  factious  attack  upon  the  administration.  As 
Colonel  Stuart  submitted  the  resolution  on  his  responsibility  for 
his  sincerity,  feeling  bound  to  believe  it  at  least  until  the  contrary 
should  be  shown,  1  voted  with  Macon  and  a  few  others  of  our 
party,  with  all  the  federalists,  against  laying  it  on  the  table.  Mr. 
Rhea  was  a  great  oddity,  in  appearance,  behaviour,  dress,  speech 
and  temper,  a  rich  old  bachelor,  a  very  honest  man,  a  thorough 
going  party  man,  and  a  good-natured  man,  but  one  of  those 
gruff,  growling  persons  who  would  rather  be  considered  unkitid 
when  he  really  was  not.  The  Tennessee  delegation  at  that  time, 
besides  Mr.  Rhea,  consisted,  among  others,  of  Felix  Grundy,  a 
distinguished  member  of  the  war  party,  and  of  General  John 
Sevier,  an  old  Indian  hunter,  as  straight  and  almost  as  stiff  as  an 
arrow,  with  the  stern  deportment  of  reserve  and  self-possession 
which  men  are  apt  to  contract  who  have  much  intercourse  with 
savages,  and  the  hardihood  of  frontier  life  on  the  outskirts  of 
•ivilization,  in  perpetual  conflict  with  them.  Geiier:il  Sevier,  if 
I  am  not  mistaken,  had  been  involved,  among  the  piou< v^  s  of  the 
West,  in  a  rencontre  with  the  most  extraordinary  American  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  General  Jackson,  also  of  Tennessee. 

After  Rhea's  motion  was  negatived,  Mr.  Thomas  G.  Gholson, 
of  Virginia,  moved  to  strike  out  the  preamble  from  Colonel 
Stuart'j  res 'Ution,  which  being  done,  and  the  blow  at  the  admi- 
nistration, if  any  vas  intended,  thus  parried,  the  subject  came 
be  [ore  I'le  House  for  consideration  on  its  merits. 


CHAP.  III.] 


HRCRRT     fiESNION. 


Its 


I 


The  wentlinr  was  in  canicular  syni|i  thy  with  our  condition, 
as  representatives  of  the  country  and  the  party  on  whom  its 
forlorn  fortunes  were  pressii  s;  one  of  those  dry,  snhry,  windy, 
not  cloudy,  but  misty,  murky,  snioky,  overcast  uncomfortable 
dog  days,  whether  the  regular  canicuhirs  iiadset  in  or  nul,  which 
surrounded  by  an  amphitheatre  of  liills,  with  the  shtggish  Poto- 
mac, and  extensive  flats  between  it  and  the  Tybor,  closed  July 
utid  prefaced  August  with  unwholsome,  enervating,  sweltering, 
atrabilious,  suflbcating,  languid,  feverish  hcut,  as  hot  as  the  fac- 
tion within  and  war  without.  Washington  was  unliealthy  in 
the  latter  part  of  summer  and  most  of  autumn.  There  were 
few  of  the  crowds  of  visitors,  or  of  inhabitants  now  there ;  most  of 
those  few  had  marched  away  on  the  sudden  campaign  sprung  up, 
and  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  the  only  peopled  part  of  that  me- 
tropolis of  magniticent  distances,  hn  J  hardly  a  listener  along  its 
disconsolate  thoroughfare.  Congress  were  nearly  alone  in  the 
capitol,  of  which  only  the  two  wings  were  then  built,  without 
the  rotunda,  or  cither  of  the  noble  fronts  now  facing  cast  and 
west;  the  whole  pile  imperfect  and  extemporary.  It  blew  a 
hurricane,  roaring  like  great  guns  through  the  dome  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  and  struck  down  the  flag  rattling  on  the  top. 
Distant  artillery  was  audible,*as  was  thought,  from  time  to  time, 
and  rumours  continually  afloat  as  the  enemy  advanced.  The  divi- 
sion of  parties  was  so  intense  that  there  was  little  personal  inter- 
course among  many  members  of  opposite  sides.  The  iederalists 
and  the  republicans  did  not  sit  together,  except  a  few  republicans 
overflowing  among  the  federalists,  occupying  the  speaker's  left. 
Debate  ran  high.  Mr.  Clay  was  an  excellent  presiding  oUicer: 
but  he  could  not  keep  the  House  always  in  order.  Alexander 
Hanson,  a  small  man,  in  delicate  health,  editor  of  the  Federal 
Republican  newspaper,  one  of  the  boldest  in  opposition,  was  a 
sharp,  fierce  speaker,  and  attacked  sometimes  the  speaker  himself. 
Mr.  Thomas  Grosvenor,  of  New  York,  was  the  readiest  debater 
and  hardest  hitter  of  the  federalists ;  Mr.  Gaston,  a  handsome 
man,  of  pleasing  address  and  speech,  Mr.  Oakley,  Mr.  Daniel 
Sheffey,  Mr.  Richard  Stockton,  Mr.  Webster,  Mr.  Pickering,  Mr. 
Pitkin,  were  nrominent  on  that  side.  Mr.  Clay,  Mr.  Calhoun, 
Solomon  Shurpe,  of  Kentucky,  assassinated  in  the  Beaiichamp 
homicidrs,  Mr.  Troup,  of  Georgia,  Governor  Wright,  of  Mary- 
land, J  iues  Fisk,  of  Vermont,  Jonathan  Fisk,  of  New  York, 


:>V« 


?m 


1-  ■ 
-1'.      :■: 

-'■1.   • 


124 


SECRET    SESvSION. 


[JULY,  1812. 


William  Duval,  afterwards  governor  of  Florida,  John  W.  Taylor, 
ivfterwards  speaker,  Felix  Grundy,  were  leading  men  of  the 
republican  party.  John  Forsyth  did  not  speak  that  session,  nor 
lill  the  middle  of  the  next,  distinguished  as  he  became  for  speak- 
ing talent.  Nor  did  Mr.  Webster  that  session  make  any  of  the 
^'reat  speeches  on  which  his  reputation  rose  afterwards.  He  and 
Mr.  Stockton  were  gone  home  when  the  proceedings  of  this 
conclave  took  place. 

Designating  some  members  as  more  remarkable  than  others  in 
that,  or  any  Congress  of  chosen  men,  and  omitting  many  others, 
far  from  inferring  judgment  on  their  respective  merits,  is  to  be 
taken  as  merely  referring  to  a  few  who,  at  the  moment  happened 
to  figure  more  than  the  rest.  The  peculiar  characteristics  of  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  are  almost  universal  aptitude  of 
speech,  facility  of  fluency  transcending  the  speaking  talent  of  any 
other  representative  body,  and  a  general  prevalence  of  strong 
good  sense,  mother  wit,  so  that  those  who  speak  most  and  there- 
fore may  seem  most  effective,  are  not  probably  the  genii  of  the 
place,  but  the  whole  body  is  moved  and  mastered  by  predomi- 
nant and  pervading  intelligence  le  'emonstrative  and  more  felt. 
Political  distinction  is  extremely  srio.t-lived,  seldom  registered  on 
the  rolls  of  fame ;  party  prominence,  topics,  and  passions  still 
more  evanescent.  Founders  and  warriors  have  historical  cele- 
brity ;  writers  sometimes;  speakers  seldom,  and  only  when  they 
reach,  as  very  few  do,  the  regions  of  renown.  The  fame  of  a 
member  of  Congress  is  like  collegiate  honour,  often  eclipsed  by 
much  less  forwardness.  Two  of  the  surviving  members  of  the 
War  Congress,  then  not  prominent,  are  now,  one  of  them  Mr. 
John  M'Lean,  afterwards  an  efficient  and  successful  head  of  the 
Post-office  department,  from  which  he  was  removed  to  the  Su- 
preme Court  of  the  United  States ;  the  other,  after  long  service 
as  a  distinguished  senator,  Mr.  William  R.  King,  now  the  Ameri- 
can minister  in  France.  On  the  other  hand,  how  many  then 
le^j'ng  men,  are  now  totally  unknown  !  Rome  became  mistress 
of  the  world  before  scarcely  a  Roman  appeared  to  tell  of  it ; 
while  Greece  was  spoken  and  written  into  celebration.  Talent 
for  business,  for  action,  in  armies,  in  legislatures,  in  every  branch 
of  government,  is  the  most  enduring  of  all ;  and  even  that  must 
depend  on  those  occasions  which  are  considered  fortune.  Flu- 
ency and  force  of  speech,  without  much  learning,  but  mother  wit, 


CHAP.  III.] 


SECRET    SESSION. 


125 


energy  and  commonalty  of  intelligence,  are  the  characteristics  of 
the  American  House  of  Representatives,  as  compared  with  other 
similar  assemblages.  Erudition,  classical  quotation,  profound 
and  accurate  acquirements,  more  noise,  less  order,  fewer  rules, 
much  less  speaking  talent  are  remarkable  in  the  British  House 
of  Commons;  very  little  speaking  talent,  more  confusion,  but  in 
rare  instances,  a  higher  order  of  elegant  oratory,  in  the  French 
Chamber  of  Deputies.  The  freedom  of  communication  between 
all  deliberative  assemblies  and  the  public,  reports  of  debates  and 
their  influence,  have  assumed  much  greater  latitude  and  efl'ect 
with  the  growing  importance  of  this  country. 

There  would  be  little  interest  now  in  the  debate  on  Colonel 
Stuart's  motion,  which  debate  dwelt  upon  for  other  purposes. 
After  the  preamble  was  disposed  of,  Mr.  William  A.  Burwell,  of 
the  aristocracy  of  the  Virginia  democracy — a  Randolph,  a  Carter 
or  a  IJurwcU  must  have  great  personal  superiority,  said  Jefferson, 
over  a  common  competitor  to  be  elected  by  the  people— moved 
to  commit  the  subject  to  the  committee  on  military  affairs ;  of 
which  committee.  Colonel  Stuart,  and  another  respectable  officer 
of  the  Revolution  and  a  federalist.  Colonel  Tallmadge,of  Comiec- 
ticut,  were  members,  but  with  five  of  the  war  party  which  the 
speaker  took  care  tln;re  should  be  on  that  committee  to  control 
it.  Mr.  Burwell's  motion  met  the  issue,  and  after  it  had  been 
sAiflaciently  discussed,  by  a  vote  of  seventy-four  to  forty-four, 
mostly  a  party  vote,  it  succeeded.  Next  day  Mr.  Troup,  chair- 
man of  the  military  committee,  reported  that  having  examined 
the  state  of  preparation,  naval  and  military,  they  were  satisfied 
that  it  was  in  every  respect  adequate,  and  that  no  measures  on 
the  part  of  the  house  wore  necessary  to  moke  it  more  complete  : 
which  was  ordered  to  be  inserted  in  the  journal. 

So  we  felt  at  the  time ;  and  feeling  so,  we  thought  so.  As  the 
enemy  had  not  then  land  troops  enough  for  the  capture  of  Wash- 
ington, perhaps  it  was  true  that  we  were  in  no  danger  of  being 
surprised  in  the  capital.  But  thirteen  months  afterwards,  its 
conflagration — when  Washington  was  sacked,  at  which  time  the 
means  of  defence  were  a  hundred  fold  greater  than  during  our 
alarm  of  July,  1813 — proved  deplorably  that  the  assurances  of 
General  Armstrong  and  other  military  authorities  to  whom  we 
looked  for  reliance,  were  grossly  mistaken  in  their  confidence. 
We  voted  at  all  events  that  the  executive  had  not  left  the  metro- 

11* 


i'^^- 


■  ■  \' 


.XJ^:' 


126 


CAPITAL    THREATENED. 


[JULY,  1812 


polis  exposed  to  a  sudden  incursion,  as  opposition  acrimoniously 
charged,  and  our  party  stoutly  denieJ. 

During  the  angry  discussion,  when  the  House  was  sometimes 
noisy,  the  speaker  commanded  silence  with  unusual  emphasis, — 
'<  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "if  we  do  arm  and  take  the  field,  I  am 
sure  we  shall  be  beat,  if  there  is  not  more  order  kept  in  the  ranks 
than  in  this  House.  I  should  be  sorry  to  head  so  disorderly  a 
body."  At  that  time,  when  the  old  generals  were  to  be  laid  aside 
ai}d  successful  juniors  had  not  yet  appeared,  it  was,  among  other 
devices,  one  of  the  expedients  contemplated  to  commission  Mr. 
Clay  for  the  army;  also  Mr.  John  Randolph,  notwithstanding  his 
unmitigated  opposition  to  the  declaration  of  war.  Superseded 
by  Mr.  Eppes,  Mr.  Randolph  was  not  a  member  of  the  War 
Congress :  his  urgent,  constant,  and  potent  efforts  to  prevent  the 
declaration,  having  lost  him  the  district  he  so  long  represented. 
Mr.  Clay  in  the  field  might  have  found  there  a  theatre  for  his 
genius  possibly  better  adapted  than  Congress. 

Aggravating,  dismal  tidings  from  all  quarters,  by  land  and  sea, 
Car  and  near,and  from  Europe,  the  alarm  of  the  15th  July,  1813, 
contributed  to  our  disgrace.  The  enemy  almost  beat  up  our  quar- 
ters at  Washington;  menaced  Congress  in  the  capitol;  not  a  topic 
of  consolation  had  we — nothing  like  one  to  be  proud  of.  At  last 
on  the  27th  July,  it  was  understood  at  Washington  that  difficulties 
encountered  by  the  British  ships  in  passing  a  place  called  the 
Kettle-bottoms,  frustrated  their  approach  to  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment ;  and  that  their  naval  force,  consisting  of  six  line-of-battle 
ships,  three  frigates,  two  sloops  of  war,  five  gun  brigs,  nine 
schooners,  a  rocket  vessel,  and  about  fifty  barges,  all  turned 
back,  sailing  down  the  river,  as  was  thought  intending  to  go 
round  to  Annapolis.  Next  day.  General  Van  Ness'  orders 
appeared  in  print  dismissing  and  thanking  the  militia  and  vo- 
lunteers who  had  under  his  command  repaired  to  the  scene  of 
action.  On  the  24th  July,  the  president  had  proclaimed  a  day 
of  humiliation  and  prayer,  to  be  observed  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States  with  religious  solemnity,  pursuant  to  a  resolution 
of  Congress,  which  originated  in  Senate,  and  passed  the  House 
on  the  1 9th  July.  The  same  day  we  had  the  melancholy  intel- 
ligence that  on  the  British  landing  from  their  ships,  taking  Ocra- 
cock  and  Portsmouth,  threatening  Beaufort  and  Newbern,  in 
North  Carolina;  Mrs.  Gaston,  lady  of  the  member  of  the  House, 


CHAP,  in.] 


EMBARfiO. 


127 


fell  into  convulsions  and  expired  in  a  few  honrs — such  were  the 
frightful  impressions  made  by  their  predatory  incursions. 

Under  these  circumstances  the  session  was  drawing  to  a  close. 
On  Tuesday,  the  20th  July,  the  House  ag^in  went  into  secret 
session,  upon  a  message  from  the  president  brought  by  his  secre- 
tary, John  Graham,  recommending  an  embargo  to  counteract 
British  blockade  of  our  ports,  clandestinely  licensing  enemies 
disguised  as  neutrals,  and  insidiously  discriminating  between 
different  ports  of  the  United  States,  thus  subjecting  American 
commerce  to  British  regulation  and  monopoly.  The  message 
was  referred  to  the  committee  of  Foreign  Relations,  in  whose 
behalf  their  chairman,  Mr.  Calhoun,  reported  against  the  sugges- 
tion. Mr.  Calhoun  had  always  been  opposed  to  restrictive  mea- 
sures. But  the  House  went  into  committee  on  the  subject ;  and 
when  the  speaker  resumed  the  chair,  resolved  by  a  majority  of 
twenty-seven  to  adopt  the  plan,  and  referred  it  to  a  select  com- 
mittee  of  which  Felix  Grundy  was  appointed  chairman,  and  not 
a  single  opponent  of  the  executive  put  on  it.  The  eminent  gen- 
tlemen of  South  Carolina,  Mr.  Lowndes,  Mr.  Cheves,  and  Mr. 
Calhoun  had  never  been  reconciled  to  Jefferson's  restrictive  sys- 
tem, which  Madison  adhered  to.  They  all  voted  against  a  resort 
to  it  on  this  occasion ;  when  Colonel  Pickering  voted  with  us  for 
it.  Next  day,  Mr.  Grundy  reported  a  bill  conforming  to  the 
president's  views ;  which,  after  a  good  deal  of  controversy,  we 
finally  passed  by  a  majority  of  thirty,  without  one  federal  vote, 
and  the  South  Carolinians  voting  against  us :  but  it  was  defeated 
in  the  Senate  on  one  of  the  last  days  of  the  session,  which  thus 
ended  with  one  of  the  objects  of  government  defeated  in  Con- 
gress ;  superadding  one  more  mortification  to  all  the  rest. 

Soon  after  Congr^s  assembled  that  session,  on  the  31st  May, 
1813,  Albert  Gallatin,  then  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  John 
Quincy  Adams,  American  minister  in  Russia,  and  James  A. 
Bayard,  a  Senator  from  the  state  of  Delaware,  were  nominated 
envoys  extraordinary  to  negotiate  peace  under  the  mediation  of 
Russia.  That  mission  will  necessarily  become  the  subject  of 
much  attention  hereafter.  At  present  it  is  only  necessary  to 
state  that  neither  of  these  gentlemen  was  of  the  war  party  ;  Mr, 
Gallatin  openly  and  anxiously  against  it ;  Mr.  Adams  officially 
declared  his  belief  that  no  good  could  come  of  it ;  Mr.  Bayard  of 
the  party  which  voted  against,  and  always  resisted,  its  declara- 


i 


'ti'l,.'?  ■■'■'I 


P.iS-r  ^..  J' 


.-■■A 


128  MR.    GALLATIN'S    NOMINATION.         [JULY,  1812. 

tion.  Two  days  before  our  special  session  ended,  on  the  31st  July, 
1813,  Dr.  Leib  submitted,  in  Senate,  a  motion,  decision  on  which 
was  deferred  till  next  session,  when  another  senator  of  the  war 
party,  Joseph  Anderson,  of  Tennessee,  afterwards  for  many 
years  first  comptroller  of  the  treasury,  renewed  it  by  a  resolution 
that  the  offices  of  envoy  extraordinary  and  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  are  incompatible,  and  ought  not  to  be  united  in  the 
same  person.  Tiiere  can  be  no  doubt  of  this  assertion  ;  which 
however,  Madison,  with  the  inflexible  tenacity  of  passionless 
men,  influenced,  too,  probably,  by  the  high  opinion  he  inherited 
from  Jefferson,  of  Mr.  Gallatin's  pre-emiiienc  capacity,  and  both 
of  them  flattering  themselves  that  the  war  might  ^oon  be  brought 
to  a  close  by  some  unwarlike  collateral  move — Madison  resisted, 
answered  a  call  from  the  Senate  that  the  office  of  Secretary  of 
the  Treasury  was  not  vacated ;  but  in  the  absence  of  Albert 
Gallatin,  commissioned  to  treat  for  peace,  the  duties  of  that  office 
were  performed  by  William  Jones,  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
conformably  to  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  Congress  of  the  8th 
May,  1792,  and  the  supplement  of  1795,  which  authorize  the 
president  to  substitute  anothor  incumbent  in  case  of  death, 
absence,  or  sickness  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  for  a 
period  not  exceeding  six  months.  Mr.  Gallatin's  absence  was 
protracted  beyond  twenty  months.  But  from  the  first  the  presi- 
dent had  but  the  mere  letter  of  the  law.  The  Senate  resolved 
that  its  spirit  contemplated  inevitable  absence  ;  and  by  that 
eflfective  majority,  one  vote,  the  opposition  being  joined  by 
Joseph  Anderson,  Elijius  Fromentin,  John  Galliard,  William  B. 
Giles,  Michael  Leib,  Samuel  Smith,  and  Mr.  Stone,  all  of  the 
war  party,  rejected  Mr.  Gallatin.  He  was  afterwards  nominated 
when  no  longer  Secretary  of  the  Treasury^nd  confirmed ;  but 
by  this  operation,  reduced  from  the  front  to  the  foot  of  the  com- 
mission ;  of  which,  till  Mr.  Clay  and  Jonathan  Russell  were 
added,  the  war  had  not  an  advocate. 

Mr.  Gallatin's  rejection  was  only  one  of  numerous  instances 
in  which  the  president  was  overruled  by  the  Senate ;  so  much  so, 
that  many  nominations  and  measures  of  his  predilection  were  not 
attempted  for  fear  of  their  rejection.  That  is  a  wise,  if  not  indis- 
pensable combination  which  renders  legislation  dependent  on  two 
bodies,  constituting  the  Congress  for  a  republic  of  states,  of  vari- 
ous, often  conflicting  interests;  a  combination,  moreover,  wise,  be- 


CHAP.  III.] 


MR.    GALLATIN'S    NOMINATION. 


129 


cause  it  requires  the  deliberate  concurrence  of  a  majority  of  the  re- 
presentatives of  the  people  with  that  of  those  of  the  states,  before  a 
bill  can  be  presented  to  the  president,  by  his  approval  to  become 
an  act  of  Congress  ;  furthermore,  that  is  a  wholesome  fiat  of  the 
organic  law  which  renders  its  alteration  so  difficult  as  to  be  well 
nigh  impossible.  ^Jut  the  influence  of  England  predominated  when 
the  rubric  of  acts  of  Parliament,  supposed  to  proceed  from  the 
king,  came  to  be  applied  to  the  method  which  places  the  popular 
after  the  executive  branch  of  Congress,  in  the  title  of  acts  of 
Congress :  still  more  did  this  English  influence  prevail  when,  by 
social  regulations  of  precedence,  senators  take  rank  of  those  who 
represent  the  sovereignty,  as  lords  do  commons. 


'^:  -.10 


130 


MILITARY    OPERATIONS    OF     1813.         fJAN.  1813. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


iM:  V 


MILITARY  OPKRATIONS  OF  1813.— NORTH-VVESTKRN  ARMY.— KENTUCKY 
VOLUNTEERS.— GENERAL  HARRISON.— WINCHESTER.— MASSACRE  AT 
RIVER  RAISIN.— SIECES  AT  FORT  MEICS.— REPULSE  AT  SANDUSKY.— 
CROGHAX.— N^U'AL  UATTLE  ON  LAKE  ERIE. —  PERRV.  — ELLIOTT.— 
BARCLAY. 


>».  ■ 


Hull's  surrender  left  the  north-west  in  hostile  possession ;  more 
than  the  present  state  of  Michigan;  and  exposed  the  borders  of 
Pennsylvania,  Ohio,  and  Kentucky.  To  recover  lost  ground,  a 
large  body  of  volunteers  and  militia  were  called  out  from  Ken- 
tucky, Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  and  placed  under  the 
command  of  Brigadier-Gpncral  William  Henry  Harrison,  of  the 
Ohio  militia,  who  had  long  been  the  popular  Governor  of  the 
north-western  territories.  The  call  to  arms  was  met  everywhere 
with  ardour ;  in  Kentucky  with  great  enthusiasm.  Every  one 
had  led  the  frontier  life,  which  renders  a  warlike  order  like  an 
invitation  to  a  hunting  party.  The  question  was  not  who  should 
go,  but  who  would  stay.  It  was  computed  that  as  many  as 
15,000  Kentuckians  were  in  the  field.  The  people  rose  as  one 
man,  of  all  parties,  callings,  ages  and  situations.  Several  mem- 
bers of  the  Kentucky  delegation  in  Congress  with  me  served  as 
privates,  particularly  Samuel  M'Kee  and  Thomas  Montgomery : 
Mr.  Simpson,  a  fine  young  man,  six  feet  six  inches  tall,  member 
elect,  was  killed  at  the  river  Raisin ;  Richard  M.  Johnson  acted 
as  volunteer  aid  to  General  Harrison,  afterwards  as  colonel  of 
his  excellent  mounted  regiment,  1200  strong.  Mr.  Clay,  though 
not  under  arms,  was  abroad  at  the  musters,  urging  them  to  action, 
and  promising  that,  (as  after  many  difficulties  they  did,)  they 
should  retake  Maiden,  and  bring  the  British  with  them  prisoners 
to  Kentucky.  His  fellow  citizens  were  to  remember,  he  said, 
that  they  were  expected  to  distinguish  themselves,  not  only  as 
Americans,  but  as  Kentuckians  too.  The  Ohio  Senators,  Thomas 
Worthington  and  Jeremiah  Morrow,  were  also  serving  as  corn- 


seas. 


CHAP.  IV.] 


NORTH-WESTERN    EXPEDITION 


131 


inissioners  with  Governor  Meigs  of  that  State  to  prevail  on  the 
Indians  not  to  take  up  arms  against  us. 

A  difficulty  as  to  rank  between  Winchester  and  Harrison,  both 
brigadiers,  was  adjusted  at  a  kind  of  caucus,  as  it  was  called  in 
the  west,  where  Isaac  Shelby,  Judge  Todd  of  the  Supreme  Court 
of  the  United  States,  Mr.  Clay  and  others  settled  it,  that  Harri- 
son should  be  comuiissioned  major-general  by  Governor  Scott,  of 
Kentucky,  and  thus,  without  dispute,  take  his  place  as  leader  of 
the  expedition.  Some  of  the  primordial  friends  of  the  war  de- 
sired also  a  western  board  of  war,  to  direct  operations  there, 
deemed  too  remote  from  Washington  for  promptly  efficient  man- 
agement. But  the  Secretary  of  War,  Armstrong,  had  no  diffi- 
culty in  convincing  President  Madison  that  this  would  never  do. 

In  a  short  time  10,000  soldiers,  nearly  all  volunteers  and  mi- 
litia, excellent  raw  materials,  were  embodied.  Fragments  of  the 
seventeenth  regiment  of  regular  Infantry,  commanded  by  Colonel 
John  Miller,  and  of  the  nineteenth  regiment,  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Van  Home,  the  seventeenth  a  Kentucky,  the  nineteenth  an  Ohio 
regiment,  to  whom  afterwards  during  the  seige  of  Fort  Meigs,  200 
of  the  regular  dragoons  were  added,  were  joined  to  Harrison's 
army  of  10,000  men  from  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Pennsylvania  and 
Virginia,  at  probably  greater  expense  of  money  than  the  same 
number  of  men  ever  cost.  Confidence  and  ardour  pervading  the 
whole,  from  general  to  private,  Harrison  led  out  this  brave  force, 
over  forests,  deserts,  swamps,  and  almost  insuperable  obstacles 
for  a  winter  campaign,  doouied  to  be  defeated  in  the  beginning 
of  1813,  with  deplorable  loss  and  misfortune. 

The  peninsula  ot  Michigan  which  Hull  surrendered  and  Har- 
rison finally  with  Perry's  preliminary  victory  reconquered,  lies 
in  conical  configuration  between  Lakes  Michigan,  Huron,  St. 
Clair  and  Erie,  with  Lakes  Superior  and  Ontario  not  far  distant, 
in  marvellous  communication;  Green  Bay,  Manitouline  Bay  and 
Saginaw  Bay,  parts  of  this  immense  expanse  of  Mediterranean 
seas,  all  of  them  much  deeper  than  the  Atlantic  or  Pacific  Oceans, 
"  deeper  than  did  ever  plummet  sound  ;"  so  clear  and  transpa- 
rent, most  of  their  waters,  that  200  feet  below  the  surface  is  dis- 
cernible ;  a  series  of  lakes  rising  in  terraces  above  the  level  of 
tide-water  and  the  ocean,  in  incomprehensible  steps  of  progres- 
sive altitude  from  Ontario  to  J..ake  Superior.  The  magnificent 
falls  of  Niagara  and  the  Strait  of  Detroit  are  among  the  natural, 


h\' 


lu:-- 


'.  <<, 


;  1 


132 


KENTUCKY     VOLUNTEERS. 


[JAN.  1813. 


«•.■'.. 


the  citifis  of  Detroit,  Chicago,  Cleveland,  Erie,  Sandusky,  Buffalo, 
Kochester  and  Kingston  of  the  artificial  curiosities  of  this  lake 
region,  destin-^d,  since  steam  has  come  to  control  wind  and  water, 
to  be  seats  of  more  extensive  commerce,  plied  by  more  numerous 
mariners  than  now  man  the  vessels  of  these  United  States, 
with  their  millions  of  tonnage  on  all  the  oceans  of  the  world. 
The  surface  of  Lake  Huron  is  nearly  700  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  ocean,  while  the  bottom  of  that  lake  is  1100  feet  in  Saginaw 
Bay  below  that  level.  These  lakes  altogether  are  nearly  nine- 
teen degrees  of  latitude  in  breadth,  by  sixteen  degrees  of  longi- 
tude in  length.  Their  surface  covers  between  ninetv  and  a  hun- 
dred thousand  miles  in  extent,  and  they  drain  an  area  of  territory 
of  about  four  hundred  thousand  square  miles.  Michigan,  the 
cabinet  encircled  by  these  frames  of  water,  was  the  prize  for  sur- 
rendering which,  without  striking  a  blow,  to  an  inferior  force, 
Hull  was  not  shot  when  condemned  to  be,  to  regain  which  Har- 
rison pushed  forward  with  iiis  raw  levies,  on  the  attempt  of  u 
winter  campaign  in  regions  of  impracticable  difficulty. 

A  more  gallant  army  than  Harrison's  never  went  to  battle ;  the 
Kentucky  part  of  i'-  especially  embraced  numbers  of  the  most 
estimable  and  considerable  men  of  that  state,  and  many  of  them 
veterans  in  Indian  warfare.  But  seldom  was  discomfiture  more 
complete  or  fatal  than  theirs.  While  General  Harrison  with  the 
right  wing  was  lying  at  Sandusky,  General  Winchester,  command- 
ing the  left,  was  induced  to  detach  Colonels  Lewis  and  Allen,  of 
Kentucky,  to  advance  beyond  reach  of  support,  for  the  protection 
of  the  inhabitants  of  Frenchtown,  a  village  on  the  river  Raisin, 
which  is  a  small  stream  emptying  into  the  northwest  angle  of  Lake 
Erie.  The  generous  but  unmilitary  motive  for  this  rash  advance 
was  to  comply  with  a  request  of  the  inhabitani.s,  who  sent  mes- 
sages to  Winchester  entreating  protection  from  Indian  pillage  and 
destruction,  with  which  they  said  they  were  threatened.  On  the 
18th  of  January,  1813,  the  Kentuckians,  under  Lewis,  attacked 
and  defeated  a  combined  Indian  and  English  force  of  500  men 
under  Major  Reynolds,  of  the  Canadian  militia.  Colonel  Lewis 
had  great  experience  in  Indian  hostilities.  He  had  served  in  the 
campaigns  of  Harrner,St.  Clair  and  Wayne,  twenty  years  before, 
as  well  ai  with  Governor  Scott ;  was  a  man  of  great  courage,  and 
the  favourite  officer  of  that  wing  of  the  army.  Such  was  the  uni- 
versal ardour  for  this  expedition,  that  in  filling  the  Kentucky  quota 


CHAP.  IV.] 


KENTUCKY    VOLUNTEERS. 


13.i 


of  troops  to  overflowing,  many  other  veterans  in  Indian  warfare. 
Simon  Kenton,  Bland  Ballard,  George  Madison  and  others  march- 
ed on  this  occasion.  Their  success  at  Frenchtown  was  so  complete 
that  it  produced  a  degree  of  most  unfortunate  confidence  in  the 
double  character  of  Americans  and  Kentuckians.  The  new  Sec- 
retary of  War,  General  Arnislrong,  sneered  at  what  he  called  this 
press  of  valour  under  .wpular  leaders ;  he  never  liked  Harrison, 
and  had  little  coniideucc  in  militia. 

A  good  deal  of  bloodshed  in  the  first  essay  at  Frenchtown, 
rescuing  the  inhabitants  from  the  depredations  they  feared,  and 
the  natural  effects  of  complete  success,  flushed  not  only  the 
victors  themselves  under  Lewis,  but  inspired  their  comrades 
under  Winchester,  to  almost  invidious  eagerness  for  further  con- 
flict. 'iii6  news  was  electric  at  the  Rapids,  a  few  miles  distant, 
where  Winchester  was.  Not  a  man  under  his  command  could 
be  restrained  from  rushing  forward  to  join  Lewis,  renew  his 
triumphs,  and  share  their  glory.  General  Winchester  was  well- 
disposed  to  lead  them.  He  was  then  an  elderly  man,  having 
served  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution ;  a  native  of  Maryland, 
appointed  from  Tennessee  brigadier-general  of  the  regular  army. 
He  was  a  man  of  fortune,  mild,  generous,  popular,  and  no  doubt 
a  brave  man.  When  selected  for  appointment,  an  obscure  man 
of  that  state,  Andrew  .Tackson,  desired  the  place  given  to  James 
Winchester.  But  the  distinguished  member  of  Congress  repre- 
senting the  district  preferred  the  latter ;  and,  as  was  said,  be- 
cause, if  not  put  in  the  army,  Winchester  might  have  been  a 
formidable  candidate  for  Congress.  On  such  insignificant  things 
does  the  fate  of  men  depend  ;  and  of  nations.  If  Jackson  had 
commanded  at  the  Raisin,  instead  of  Winchester,  either  Jackson, 
by  being  defeated,  would  have  marred  his  wonderful  advance- 
ment, or  by  heading  the  Lewises,  Madisons,  Harts,  Simpsons, 
and  other  elite  of  Kentucky,  defeated  and  destroyed  on  the  22d 
January,  would  have  reversed  the  fortunes  of  that  disastrous  day. 
If  so.  Maiden  might  have  been  retaken,  the  whole  current  of  the 
campaign  changed  from  a  series  of  discomfitures,  into  a»stream 
of  success.  Winchester  was  so  unpopular  with  the  Kentucky 
volunteers,  that,  when  stationed,  before  they  marched,  for  some 
time,  at  Lexington,  prejudice  against  him  went  so  far  as  almost 
to  create  a  mutiny  among  these  self-opinionated  troops  of  whom 
he  took  command  at  Fort  Wayne.  For  a  considerable  period 
VOL.  I.  —12 


':'\'''  :'■  ^'^  ■?; 


h. 


"■■* 


4    .  ■ 


-•n;' 


.'.vrl 


.,:M ' 


'■  ■*■ 

;■■■* 

'■'K 


134 


BATTLE    AT    THE    RAISIN. 


[JAN.,  1813. 


it  required  all  the  influence  of  the  field  oIKcers  with  the  men 
to  prevail  on  them  to  submit  to  the  order  from  Washington, 
assigning  him  to  the  command  of  high-spirited  but  insubordinate 
volunteers,  who  thought  they  had  a  right  to  name  their  own 
commander.  By  kindness,  patience,  and  generosity,  not  by  the 
energy  with  which  .Facksou  would  have  repressed  this  untoward 
spirit,  Winchester  succecided,  at  last,  in  overcoming  it.  When  lie 
commander'  at  the  river  Raisin,  he  enjoyed  the  good-will  of  his 
troops;  but,  though  a  brave  and  good  oflicer  in  many  respects, 
he  was  probably  unequal  to  the  perilous  independent  command 
of  the  day  which  defeated  him  and  destroyed  so  many  valuable 
lives.  On  the  20th  January,  181.3,  he  joined  Lewis  cii  the 
Raisin.  His  report  of  his  advance  to  Harrison,  reached  the 
latter  at  Sandusky  the  19th,  with  intelligence  of  the  battle  and 
victory  of  the  18th.  Harrison  instantly  set  off  for  Winchester's 
encampment  at  the  rapids,  but  did  not  get  there  till  Winchester  was 
gone.  Harrison  followed  as  fast  as  he  could,  retarded  by  swamps 
almost  impassable  to  artillery,  having  dispatched  his  hispector- 
General,  Captain  Nathaniel  Hart,  to  Winch-^ster,  with  orders  to 
maintain  the  position  at  the  river  Raisin,  at  u\iy  rate.  Winches- 
ter had  sent  word  to  Harrison  that  lie  thought  he  could  do  so, 
if  reinforced.  Harrison  accordingly  forwarded  reinforcements 
to  Winchester,  but  they  did  not  roach  him  till  after  his  defeat. 
In  all  these  proceedings,  even  the  unpractised  in  military  affairs 
perceives  the  want  of  unity,  of  subordination,  above  all,  of  for- 
tune, which  must  combine  for  victory. 

The  weather  was  severe  winter,  in  a  climate  of  umisual 
rigour  to  our  troops.  The  ground  was  covered  with  deep  snow; 
yet  the  everlasting  swamps  of  that  region  were  not  hard  frozen. 
The  gallant  volunteers  were  ill  provided  with  clothing  and 
camp-covering;  too  many  of  the  officers  ignorant  and  negligent 
of  indispensable  precautions  in  the  midst  of  an  Indian  country, 
within  twenty  miles  of  their  English  allies  under  Colonels 
Proctor  and  St.  George,  Major  Muir,  and  other  thorough-bred 
.soldiers,  unscrupulous  of  whatever  means  would  lead  to  the 
great  end  of  success,  and  relying  for  it  chiefly  on  their  nu- 
merous savage  auxiliaries.  As  is  generally  the  case,  a  small 
error  or  blunder,  superadded  to  the  imperfect  state  of  the  forces 
altogether,  occasioned,  probably,  the  terrible  calamities  of  the 
battle  of  the  22d,  and  cruel  massacre  of  the  23d  January,  at 


CHAP.  IV.] 


BATTLK     AT    TIIK    RAISIN. 


135 


the  river  Rnisin,  whicli  will  long  he  lamented  in  the  accounts  ol 
western  warfare.  When  Winchester  arrived  at  the  Raisin  with 
some  300  men,  he  found  Lewis  with  COO,  posted  in  gardens, 
yards,  and  the  enclosures  within  them,  well  prepared  for  any 
emergency.  On  Lewis's  right  was  an  open  field  bounded  by 
another  enclosure  like  those  in  which  he  had  posted  his  men. 
With  General  Winchester  came  Colonel  Wells,  wlio,  being  of 
the  regular  army,  outranked  Colonel  l^ewis  of  the  volunteers. 
Lewis'  advice  to  Wincliester  was  to  post  the  300  men  wiili 
Wells  in  the  enclosure  on  J-.ewis'  left.  To  this  Wells  objected, 
requiring  the  right  of  Lewis,  which  General  Winchester  allowed 
him  to  take,  in  an  open  exposed  field,  instead  of  being  under 
cover  of  the  enclosures.  To  this  slight  circumstance  may  be 
attributed  much  of  the  misfortune  of  a  fatal  day.  The  IJritisli 
and  Indians  attacked  early  in  the  morning  of  the  2id  January, 
1.S13.  Colonel  Wells'  detachment  resisted,  unprotected  by  atiy 
cover,  the  fierce  attack  of  superior  numbers,  fought  not  only  with 
unflinching  bravery,  but  with  great  etfcct,  till  their  ammunition 
began  to  fail ;  a  sad  deficiency  wiiich  ought  not  to  have  occurred. 
General  Winchester,  who  courageously  commanded,  ordered 
Wells  to  retire  into  the  enclosures  where  Lewis  was  stationed. 
Attempting  to  execute  this  difficult  movement,  to  withdraw  in 
the  face  of  a  superior  enemy  pressing  upon  them,  Wells'  men 
fell  into  confusion.  Directions  to  fall  back  into  Lewis'  enclosures, 
were  mistaken  for  an  order  to  retreat.  Instead  of  falling  back 
upon  Lewis,  which  would  have  rendered  them  quite  safe,  with 
an  officer  of  experience  as  well  as  courage,  the  bewildered  men, 
unhappily  passed  over  the  river  on  the  ice,  and  retired  into  the 
woods,  towards  the  rapids.  They  were  immediately,  in  fact 
corstautly,  pursued  by  the  Indians,  who  surrounded  and  cut 
them  to  pieces,  fighting  to  tlic  last  with  the  utmost  resolution, 
selling  their  lives  dearly,  and  inflicting  on  their  assailants  heavy 
loss.  All  of  Wells'  detachment  were  killed  but  twenty-eight, 
and  about  forty  taken  prisoners.  General  Winchester  and 
Colonel  Lewis,  who  accompanied  and  attempted  to  rally  them, 
with  the  general's  aid  and  son,  were  taken  prisoners.  The 
general's  oflicial  account  of  the  action,  written  at  Maiden  the 
next  day,  says,  that  "  the  few  of  us  that  remained  with  the 
retreating  party,  borne  down  by  numbers,  at  length  submitted." 
By  thus  losing  their  two  principal  officers,  our  troops,  never 


fJ,T;..--,  .;;•;? 


U 


Vl    ,1 


:>>  ^:'. 


.'.  ^ 


' .  1 .  ■  ■')■ 


136 


AMERICAN    DF.FKAT. 


[JAN.,  1813. 


:^ 


■i- 

•»if^  ■ 

i^ 

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M 

^mv  ^ 

,'( 

yML'f, 

mk 

.' 

more  thnn  half  the  number  of  their  enemies,  were  not  only 
reduced  to  less  than  ."iOO  remaining  wiih  Miijor  Madison  within 
the  pickets,  but  were  deprived  of  their  principal  commanders, 
and  at  leust  UOO  of  their  companions.  Thus  reduced,  however, 
the  remainder  maintained  their  position  with  undaunted  and 
(!ven  desperate  spirit,  repulsina;  the  British  regulars  several  times 
and  killing  many  more  of  them  than  their  ollicial  accounts  after 
the  battle  acknowl(!(lged.  The  false  rc.'port  of  the  liritisli  Adju- 
t  uit-Genorul  Edward  Uaynes,  dated  at  Quebec  the  8th  February, 
181;J,  was,  that  400  took  refuge  in  the  houses  of  the  town,  and 
kept  up  a  galling  fire  from  the  windows.  The  fact  was  that 
Madison  repulsed  every  attack  on  liis  position,  and  maintained 
it  till  near  noon  from  day-break,  when  the  battle  began ;  the 
British  having  sulfercd  so  severely  that  they  deemed  it  necessary 
to  resort  to  a  stratagem  in  which  they  \mhappily  succeeded. 
Falsehood  is  perhaps  not  among  the  forbidden  arts  of  war,  and 
the  mere  stratagem  by  which  the  surrender  of  the  remainder  of 
our  brave  men  was  effected,  might  not  be  deemed  contrary  to 
the  usages  of  legitimate  hostilities.  But  the  vile  use  made  of, 
at  any  rate,  rather  an  unmanly  trick,  calls  for  the  strongest 
reprobation  of  a  base  contrivance.  General  Winchester  was 
prevailed  upon,  when  taken  prisoner,  from  motives  of  humanity, 
to  send  his  aid  Major  Overton  with  a  flag  of  truce  to  Major 
Madison,  with  proposals  for  an  honourable  capitulation,  if  lie 
would  surrender.  At  that  time  the  firing  had  so  far  ceased, 
that  our  men  supposed  that  the  British  flag  had  come  to  pro- 
pose a  cessation  of  hostilities.  General  Winchester  had  only 
acceded  to  Proctor's  proffer  of  an  honourable  capitulation,  in 
order  to  snvo  the  lives  of  many  valuable  men,  the  flower  of  the 
citizens  of  Kentucky,  who  were  with  Major  Madison.  Proctor 
told  him  that  unless  they  surrendered,  the  buildings  in  which 
they  were  would  be  immediately  set  on  fire,  and  that  he  would 
not  be  responsible  for  the  conduct  of  the  Indians,  who  were 
greatly  exasperated  by  the  number  of  their  warriors  killed  in 
the  action.  In  this  critical  situation,  desirous  of  saving  the  lives 
of  the  brave  men  with  Major  Madison,  and  expressly  stipulating 
with  Proctor  that  they  should  be  protected  from  the  savages, 
allowed  to  retain  their  private  property,  and  have  their  side 
arms  returned  to  them,  Winchester  yielded  to  Proctor's  earnest 
solicitation,  and  sent  Major  Overton  with  the  flag  of  truce  to 


riiAP.  IV.] 


DRFRAT     AT    THK     RAISIN. 


137 


Major  Madison,  who,  not  without  great  rohictnncc  and  every 
proper  and  pos;iiblc  pri^cuution,  linally  snbmitted  himself  and 
his  gallant  comrades,  prisoners  of  war,  Hetween  400  and  500 
men  thus  fell  i  ito  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  of  whom  a  great  many 
were  wounded,  and  doomed  next  day  to  horrible  assassination. 
The  British  account  claims  to  have  killed  between  400  and  500 
of  our  people ;  Adjutant-dencral  Haynes,  in  his  ollicial  rei)ort, 
boasting  tliat  the  Indian  chief,  Uound-head,  with  his  band  of 
warriors,  rendered  e.^ential  service  by  tiieir  bravery  and  good 
conduct ;  and  that  all  the  Americans  who  attempted  to  save 
themselves  by  flight,  were  cut  off  by  the  Indian  warriors.  It 
was  Round-liead  who  captured  General  Winchester,  and  de- 
livered him  to  Colonel  Proctor,  to  be  the  amiable  and  good- 
natured  instrument  of  his  vile  contrivances. 

Such  was  the  battle  of  the  River  Kaisin  on  the  22d  of  January, 
1813,  preceding  the  massacre  of  the  next  day,  which  covered 
nearly  every  respectable  family  in  Kentucky  with  mourning, 
filled  every  generous  /l.nt'rican  bosom  with  indignation;  was 
visited  by  condign  retribution  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames  in  the 
following  October,  and  should  forever  be  exposed  among  the 
detestable  acts  of  English  barbarity  in  that  war,  which,  never- 
theless, found  disallected  Americans  graceless  enough  if  not  to 
vindicate,  at  all  events  to  palliate  and  rejoice  over. 

After  the  capitulatif ',  A[ajor  Madison  strongly  remonstrated 
with  the  Hritish  oommanding  olliccr  upon  the  necessity  and 
duty  of  protecting  the  wounded  American  prisoners  from  tlie 
savages,  who  were  hovering  about  like  blood-hounds  thirsting  to 
prey  upon  them.  Tlio  stipulated  protection  was  again  promised, 
with  renewed  ;t  surances  that  the  terms  of  capitulation  should 
be  faithfully  and  justly  complied  with.  Next  day,  after  General 
Winchester  and  other  superior  otlicers  had  been  removed  to 
Maiden,  when  but  two  of  the  seven  American  surgeons  survived 
the  action  of  the  day  before,  our  wounded  officers  and  men, 
in  want  of  every  thing  and  sull'ering  the  rigours  of  a  winter, 
the  severest  almost  ever  known  in  that  cold  climate,  (when, 
if  they  had  surrendered  at  discretion,  every  dictate  of  humanity 
and  principle  of  manhood,  even  without  regard  to  articles  of 
capitulation,  required  their  protection,)  were  given  up  by  British 
oflicers  to  the  ruthless  brutalities  of  the  Indians,  and  put  to  death 
according  to  their  most  barbarous  proceedings  on  such  occasions. 

12* 


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r 


%,- 


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a. 
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';■'   .  ■     . 


if 


138 


MASSACilE, 


[JAN.,  1813. 


mi 


Never  giving  or  taking  quarter,  they  make  no  prisoners,  but 
exercise  what  is,  perhaps,  the  sternest  right  of  war,  by  putting 
all  their  captives  to  death.  According  to  the  regulations  of  civil- 
ized hostilities,  this  right  does  not  exist  but  in  case  of  absolute 
necessity  for  self-preservation  ;  and  under  no  circumstances  can 
it  be  exercised  with  tortures,  mutilation,  scalping,  burning,  and 
other  abominable  excesses.  All  our  prisoners  were,  according 
to  promise,  to  have  been  conveyed  in  sleighs  from  the  Raisin  to 
Maiden.  Instead  of  that,  every  one  of  them  unable  to  march, 
was  not  only  murdered,  but  most  of  them  tortured  to  death  by 
the  savages,  as  mischievous  children  torment  insects  by  tearing 
them  to  pieces.  Captain  Nathaniel  Hart,  Mr.  Clay's  brother-in- 
law,  had  been  wounded  in  the  battle  in  the  knee,  and  was  una- 
ble to  walk.  He  had  greatly  signalized  himself  by  undaunted 
intrepidity.  A  half-breed  Indian,  Elliott,  holding  the  King  of 
England's  commission,  who  had  been  a  college  companion  of 
Captain  Hart,  promised  to  have  him  carried  to  Maiden  and  there 
taken  care  of  in  Elliott's  own  house,  A  band  of  ruffian  savages, 
nevertheless,  tore  him  from  the  bed  on  which  he  was  lying,  and 
were  about  to  kill  him  when  he  was  rescued  by  a  brother  officer. 
Soon  after,  while  mounted  on  a  horse  on  his  way  to  Maiden,  (on 
the  23d  January,)  he  was  shot  by  a  party  of  Indians,  toma- 
hawked, and  scalped,  his  body  left  on  the  road  unburied  to  be 
devoured  by  hogs.  The  fate  of  many  other  most  respectable 
men  was  similiar  to  Captain  Hart's.  Nearly  ail  our  prisoners 
were  stripped  of  their  clothing,  rifled  of  their  money,  the  officers' 
swords  given  up  to  the  savages ;  men  of  education,  talents,  and 
the  highest  respectability  treated  by  British  officers  of  every 
grade,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  with  supercilious  harsh- 
ness, unmanly,  ungentlemanly,  and  inhuman.  When  an  Ame- 
rican officer  urged  the  necessity  of  British  surgical  assistance 
to  the  wounded,  (as  five  of  our  seven  surgeons  were  killed,) 
Elliott's  execrable  reply  was,  t/ie  Indiatis  are  excellent  doctors. 
Sixty-four  wounded  Americans  were  left  on  the  ground,  under 
the  care  of  Doctors  Tod  and  Bowers,  (the  two  surviving  sur- 
geons,) with  every  assurance  and  full  reliance  that  they  would 
be  kindly  removed  in  sleds  next  day  to  Maiden.  At  sunrise, 
on  the  23d,  a  large  body  of  Indians  stripped  them,  as  they  lay 
extended  on  the  cold  ground,  tomahawked,  and  scalped  all  who 
were  unable  to  march,  (such  was  their  frightful  surgery,)  and 


CHAP.  IV  .1 


M'AFEE'S    ACCOUNT. 


139 


took  away  a  few  surviving  prisoners  with  them  for  further  and 
more  excruciating  tortures.  Among  those  assassinated,  were 
Captains  Hickman,  Mead,  Edwards,  Price,  M'Cracken,  many 
vahiable  and  highly  respectable  subaltern  officers  and  privates, 
nearly  all  of  whom  were  among  the  most  considerable  citizens 
of  Kentucky.  Seldom,  if  ever,  has  a  greater  outrage  been  com- 
mitted. The  murdered  prisoners  and  poisoned  wells  imputed 
to  Bonaparte  in  Egypt,  were  no  worse  than  these  barbarities, 
which  are  unquestionable,  while  the  British  Egyptian  stories 
are  as  fabulous  as  many  of  the  romances  of  that  remote  country. 
The  unfortunate  victims  at  Raisin  were  betrayed  to  their  destruc- 
tion. I  incorporate  with  my  narrative,  as  more  authentic  and 
particular  than  anything  I  could  give,  the  following  account  from 
Captain  M'Afee.  The  troops  within  the  picketing  under  Majors 
Graves  and  Madison,  had,  with  Spartan  valour,  maintained  their 
position,  thougn  powerfully  assailed  by  Proctor  and  his  savage 
allies.  The  British  had  posted  a  six-pounder  behind  a  small  house, 
about  two  hundred  yards  down  the  river,  which  considerably 
annoyed  the  camp  till  its  supplies  of  ammunition,  which  were 
brought  in  a  sleigh,  were  arrested  by  killing  the  horse  and  his 
driver.  Major  Graves,  in  passing  round  the  lines,  was  wounded 
in  the  knee— he  sat  down,  and  bound  it  up  himself,  observing 
to  his  men,  "never  mind  me,  but  fight  on."  About  ten  o'clock, 
Colonel  Proctor,  finding  it  useless  to  sacrifice  his  men  in  vain 
attempts  to  dislodge  this  little  band  of  heroes,  withdrew  his  forces 
to  the  woods,  intending  either  to  abandon  the  contest,  or  to  wait 
the  return  of  the  Indians,  who  had  pursued  the  retreating  party. 
The  loss  sustained  by  our  men  was  inconsiderable ;  and  when 
Proctor  withdrew,  they  employed  the  leisure  it  afforded  them  to 
take  breakfast  at  their  posts. 

As  soon  as  Proctor  was  informed  that  General  Winchester  was 
taken,  he  basely  determined  to  take  advantage  of  his  situation  to 
procure  the  surrender  of  the  party  in  the  picketing.  He  repre- 
sented to  the  general,  that  nothing  but  an  immediate  surrender 
would  save  the  Americans  from  an  indiscriminate  massacre  by 
the  Indians.  A  flag  was  then  seen  advancing  from  the  British 
lines,  carried  by  Major  Overton,  one  of  the  general's  aids,  and 
accompanied  by  Colonel  Proctor  himself  and  several  other  offi- 
cers. Having  halted  at  a  respectful  distance,  Major  Madison 
with  Brigade-Major  Garrard,  proceeded  to  meet  them,  expecting 


v 


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a- 


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i 


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•r; 


•■■  If, . 


140 


M'AFEE'S    ACCOUNT. 


[JAN.,  1813. 


CHA 


that  the  object  of  the  flag  was  to  obtain  a  cessation  of  hostilities  for 
the  British  to  hear  ofl'  their  dead.  They  were  much  mortified  to 
find  that  Major  Overton  was  the  bearer  of  an  order  from  General 
Winchester,  directing  the  officer  commanding  the  American  forces 
to  surrender  them  prisoners  of  war.  This  was  the  first  intima- 
tion they  had  that  their  general  had  been  taken.  Colonel  Proctor, 
with  great  haughtiness,  demanded  an  immediate  surrender,  or  he 
would  set  the  town  on  fire,  and  the  Indians  would  not  be  re- 
strained in  committing  an  immediate  massacre.  Major  Madison 
observed,  "that  it  had  been  customary  for  the  Indians  to  massacre 
the  wounded  and  prisoners  after  a  surrender,  and  that  he  would 
not  agree  to  any  capitulation  which  General  Winchester  might 
direct,  unless  the  safety  and  protection  of  his  men  were  stipulated." 
Colonel  Proctor  then  said,  "  Sir,  do  you  mean  to  dictate  to  me  ?" 
"  No,"  replied  Madison,  «  I  mean  to  dictate  for  myself,  and  we 
prefer  selling  our  lives  as  dear  as  possible,  rather  than  be  massa- 
cred in  cold  blood."  Proctor  then  agreed  to  receive  a  surrender 
on  the  following  terms  :  that  all  private  property  should  be  re- 
spected, that  sleds  should  be  sent  next  morning  to  remove  the  sick 
and  wounded  to  Amherstburg,  on  the  island  opposite  Maiden, 
that,  in  the  meantime,  they  should  be  protected  by  a  guard, 
and  that  the  side  arms  of  the  officers  should  be  restored  to  them 
at  Maiden. 

Major  Madison,  after  consulting  with  Garrard,  thought  it  most 
prudent  to  capitulate  on  these  terms.  Half  the  original  force  was 
already  lost ;  the  rest  would  have  to  contend  with  more  than 
three  times  their  number ;  there  was  no  possible  chance  of  a  re- 
treat, nor  any  hope  of  a  reinforcement  to  save  them ;  and  worst 
of  all,  their  ammunition  was  nearly  exhausted,  not  more  th'^n  one 
third  of  a  small  keg  of  cartridges  being  loft. 

Among  those  who  fell  in  the  course  of  these  two  memorable 
days,  were  Colonel  Allen,  an  eminent  jurist,  who  would,  in  all 
probability,  have  been  the  next  Governor  of  Kentucky,  and  Cap- 
tain Simpson,  a  member  of  Congress  eiect  from  that  state,  whose 
tall  person,  six  feet  six  inches  high,  was  an  obje.-'t  of  great  admi- 
ration for  the  savages,  as  well  as  too  good  a  mark  for  thou  rifles. 
They  gathered  round  his  body  where  he  lay  to  admire  its  gigantic 
proportions.  Among  the  prisoners,  between  4  and  500,  were 
General  Winchester,  Lieutenant-Colonel  William  Lewis,  Major 
George  Madison,  Brigade-Inspector  James  Garrard,  Junior,  Adju- 


! 


p$:^ 


CHAP.  IV.] 


ENGLISH    ACCOUNTS. 


141 


tant  John  M'Calla,  Quarter  Master  Pollard  Keen,  Surgeon  John 
Tod,  with  many  officers  of  inferior  rank. 

The  Wyandot  Indians,  who  were  the  principal  perpetrators  of 
the  butchery,  were  considerably  advanced  in  civilization,  many 
of  them  tolerably  educated,  most  of  them  professing  the  Christian 
religion,  to  which  their  progenitors  had  probably  been  converted 
by  P'rench  missionaries.  Frenchtown  was  a  well  improved  vil- 
lage surrounded  by  cultivated  gardens  and  fields,  with  a  church 
and  other  evidences  of  advancement  beyond  the  barbarism  to 
which  they  were  restored  by  shocking  English  subornation. 

Mr.  Christie's  English  Narrative,  published  at  Quebec,  of  the 
operations  of  the  war,  acknowledges,  that  what  he  calls  the  un- 
governable ferocity  of  their  Indian  allies,  on  the  day  after  the 
battle  slutightered  such  of  the  tvounded prisoners  as  were  unable 
to  walk,  "at  which,"  he  adds,  "humanity  revolts,  while  declar- 
ing that  it  was  done  in  spite  of  the  British."  Proctor's  official 
account  of  tiie  action,  by  letter  to  General  Sir  Roger  Sheaffe, 
dated  the  25th  of  January,  1S13,  says,  "that  Brigadier-General 
Winchester  was  taken  in  the  pursuit  by  the  Wyandot  chief  Round- 
head, who  surrendered  him  to  me.  The  American  force  posted 
in  houses  and  enclosures,  which,  from  dread  of  falling  into  the 
hands  of  the  Indians,  they  most  obstinately  defended,  surrendered 
at  discretion.  This  assertion  is  positively  false.  That  nothing 
may  be  wanting  to  the  enormity  of  this  falsehood,  Adjutant-Gene- 
ral Baynes'  before  mentioned  report  of  the  action,  adds  the  ag- 
gravation, "that  the  gallantry  of  Colonel  Proctor  was  most  nobly 
displayed  in  his  humane  and  unwearied  exertions,  which  suc- 
ceeded in  rescuing  the  vanquished  from  the  revenge  of  the  Indian 
warriors."  Finally,  the  Governor-General  Prevost's  official  dis- 
patch to  Earl  Bathurst,  dated  at  Quebec,  the  8th  of  February, 
and  published  by  authority  in  the  London  Gazette  of  the  24th  of 
April,  1813,  contains  no  allusion  whatever  to  the  barbarities  which 
took  place.  On  the  contrary.  Colonel  Proctor  was,  for  ihe  battle 
of  the  river  Raisin,  promoted  to  the  rank  of  bric^adier-general  in 
Upper  Canada,  and  continued  in  the  enjoyment  of  his  ill-got 
spoils,  promotion  and  reputation  for  humanity  as  well  as  courage 
and  conduct,  till  after  his  cowardly  flight  from  the  battle  of 
the  Thames,  where  he  deserted  his  army,  as  will  hereafter  be 
shown,  his  baggage,  his  dispatches  and  his  spoils,  and  disgracefully 
escaped  with  only  seventeen  men  to  Burlington  heig'its;  when, 


'' . ''  '■>'■.'  -v .■■  i 


vv  '■s:.:;'v'>- 


■'.'i-..^v'-V<.-- 


.-s-'^'^-. 


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N-: 


l¥f' 


142 


GENERAL     PROCTOR. 


[JAN.,  1813. 


but  not  till  then,  he  was  reprinKinded  and  publicly  dishonoured  in 
October,  by  the  same  governor-general  who  applauded  and  pro- 
moted him  in  February.  Retribution  tor  his  crimes  was  not  long 
deferred,  and  inflicted  by  his  own  superiors.  If  they  had  con- 
demned and  rebuked  the  massacre  at  the  river  Raisin,  at  the  mo- 
ment as  it  required,  it  would  have  been  much  more  deserving  the 
boasted  British  character  for  honour  and  humanity.  Christie,  al- 
ways more  candid  than  the  English  official  accounts,  says,  "that 
Proctor  having  represented  to  his  priso  ler,  Winchester,  whom  he 
received  soon  after  the  commencement  of  the  action,  from  the  hands 
of  the  Wyandot  chief  Roundhead,  that  no  responsibilih/  tvou/d  be 
taken  for  the  conduct  of  the  Indiana,  Winchester  was  induced 
thereby  to  send  a  flag  of  irnce  to  his  men,  and  agreed  on  tlieir  part 
to  surrender,  upon  condition  of  their  being  protected  from  the  fury 
of  the  savages,  and  allowed  to  preserve  their  private  property."  It 
is  therefore  no  American  misrepresentation  of  the  transaction,  as 
it  actually  occurred,  but  the  truth  as  confessed  by  English  history, 
well  known  to  British  officers  at  the  time,  that  a  vile  falsehood 
prefaced  an  execrable  massacre,  contrary  to  the  rules  of  war,  and 
the  feelings  of  humanity,  for  which  the  perpetrator  was  promoted 
from  the  command  of  a  regiment  to  that  of  a  brigade,  received 
the  th.j'iks  of  his  commanding  officers  for  humanity,  and  was  (for 
to  be  sure,  but  a  brief  period)  the  hero  of  a  military  achievement. 
Mr.  Christie  adds,  "  that  Proctor's  promotion  by  Prevost  until  the 
pleasure  of  the  prince-regent  should  be  known,  was  approved  and 
confirmed  by  that  great  dispenser  of  British  power  and  favour. 
At  the  same  time  the  Canadian  Assembly  by  resolnti'^n  voted 
their  thanks  to  Proctor  for  the  exemplary  humanity  'isplayed  by 
him  in  the  moment  of  victory,  which,"  Mr.  Christie  thinks  "would 
not  have  been  done  if  the  assembly  had  been  aware  of  the  facts." 
Is  it  ungenerous  to  doubt  whether  they  would  have  hesitated  ? 
Until  the  o'^erthrow  of  Napoleon  enabled  England  to  fill  Canada, 
and  indeed  cover  North  America  from  Montreal  to  New  Orleans, 
with  British  troops,  the  main  reliance  of  her  officers  in  Canada, 
for  saving  that  province  from  conquest,  was  the  use  of  those 
savages,  who,  in  both  her  wars  upon  the  United  States,  have  fur- 
nished her  most  considerable  and  formidable  power.  The  Cana- 
dian Assembly  was  part  of  the  governneut  which  by  Indian 
instrumeiUaliiy  preserved  the  province  from  conquest.  When, 
therefore,  the  first  steps  were  taken  in  the  wicked  employment  of 


CHAP.  IV.l 


INDIAN    HARBARITIES. 


143 


the  savages,  national  passions  excited,  and  prejudices  enlisted,  sup- 
pressing the  truth  was  but  an  insignificant  aggravation  of  the  origi- 
nal ofl'ence.  In  the  IJritish  accounts  of  the  Canadian  war,  savage 
instrumentality  is  scarcely  disguised,  and  always  perceptible.  His- 
tory has  no  more  solemnduty  to  perform  than  toer  pose  such  cruel  ty 
to  universal  abhorrence.  It  has  been  a  principal  part  of  all  English 
hostilities  against  their  American  kindred  jver  since  denounced 
by  Chatham  in  1777,  in  the  House  of  Lords,  "as  warfare  of  the 
tomahawk  and  scalping  knife,  worse  than  that  of  blood-hounds, 
atrocities  degrading  the  pride,  pomp  and  circumstance  of  glorious 
war,  which  makes  ambition  virtue."  Though  thus  denounced 
in  the  solemn  assembly  of  British  nobles,  prelates  and  princes,  of 
course,  therefore,  well  known  to  the  English  government,  it  seems 
to  be  impossible  that  it  can  be  known  to  a  people,  who  have  long 
since  by  negotiations,  great  expenditures  and  almost  in  arms, 
been  labouring  to  put  an  end  to  the  slave  trade,  certainly  a  much 
less  atrocious  national  violation  of  humanity. 

The  brave  Kentuckians,  captured  and  disarmed  by  artifice  and 
folsehood,  preserved  to  the  last  their  spirits  unbroken.  Generajl 
Winchester,  Colonel  Lewis  and  Major  Madison  were  sent  pri- 
soners to  Quebec  and  remained  a  long  time  in  captivity.  Besides 
courage  and  constancy,  the  Kentucky  volunteers  always  display- 
ed a  cheerful  endurance  of  hardship  and  privation,  a  buoyancy 
of  spirit  and  alacrity  for  duty,  deserving  of  especial  applause. 
They  had  been  long  encamped  under  trying  circumstances,  before 
marched  to  the  unhappy  end  of  their  campaign  on  the  Raisin. 

The  left  wing  of  the  northwestern  army  under  General  Win- 
chester, after  relieving  Fort  Wayne,  in  September,  moved  down 
to  the  site  of  old  Fort  Defiance,  where  these  troops  built  Fort 
Winchester.  That  wing  was  composed  exclusively  of  Kentucky 
volunteers  and  regulars.  There  they  remained  unti'  November, 
and  built  pirogues,  or  large  canoes,  for  the  transportation  of  bag- 
gage on  the  Maumee  down  to  the  Rapids.  To  pass  some  shoals, 
however,  the  army  moved  down  the  river  aboat  six  miles,  and 
encamped  at  what  was  afterwards  called  camp  No.  3.  At  that 
camp  the  volunteers  received  the  clothing  which  their  friends  in 
Kentucky  had  prepared  for  them,  the  weather  being  then  very 
cold ;  a  supply  doubly  acceptable,  as  coming  in  such  good  time, 
but  more  especially  as  having  been  the  spontaneous  product  of 


*-^:: 


■:■<.>'•!■. 


Stf- ■'.'.' 


.  ^ 


:.V  ■■..;.  ■• 


:£-•■■ 
,1 


;--::|'v'li;'^^vr. 


i}:H 


m-- 


'M". 


1;> 

*  '■  ■  ■■'. 

144 


KtNTUCKY    VOLUNTEERS. 


[JAN.,  1813. 


1       1. 

•.  ft 


the  affection  and  regard  of  the  matrons  and  young  women  of 
their  native  homes.  There  was  one  regiment  cf  regulars  at  the 
camp  whose  clothing  had  not  arrived.  Although  there  was 
both  ice  and  snow,  and  very  cold  weather,  they  were  in  their 
linen  fatigue  dresses.  The  officers  of  the  volunteers  proposed  to 
General  Winchester,  and  even  generously  insisted  on  being  al- 
lowed to  do  all  the  camp  and  detachment  service,  and  to  permit 
the  destitute  regulars  to  remain  by  their  fires,  and  do  nothing  but 
provide  their  own  fuel,  until  they  were  supplied  with  winter 
clothing,  which  was  done,  and  cemented  the  good  feeling  exist- 
ing between  the  two  services  to  a  high  degree. 

The  troops  were  picketed  at  camp  No.  3,  and  remained  there 
awaiting  supplies  to  enable  them  to  advance,  which  never  came. 
At  one  time  the  whole  left  wing  at  No.  3  were  fourteen  days 
without  the  slightest  supply  of  flour,  the  ration  consisting  of  one 
and  a  half  pounds  of  beef  alone :  and  that  beef  was  the  car- 
cases of  cattle  killed  in  a  state  of  famine  to  prevent  their  natural 
death.  Hickory  roots,  elm  bark  and  beech  nuts  made  up  the 
ration. 

About  the  8th  January  orders  were  issued  to  march  to  the 
Rapids.  That  march  was  made  through  a  snow  twenty-seven 
inches  on  a  dead  level.  On  the  march  those  brave  men  har- 
nessed themselves  to  sleighs  and  drew  their  baggage.  On  arriv- 
ing at  the  rapids,  after  remaining  a  day  or  two,  orders  were  given 
for  the  advance  to  the  river  Raisin ;  also  through  deep  snow,  or 
over  ice  on  the  border  of  the  lake.  They  marched  18  miles  the 
first  day  and  18  miles  by  3  o'c'ock  the  second  day,  went  at  once 
into  action,  and  kept  it  up  until  6  o'clock. 

On  the  22d  of  January,  until  the  order  was  given  to  surrender, 
the  soldiers  who  remained  in  the  pickets  believed  that  they  had 
won  the  day,  and  were  rejoi(  ing  at  it.  When  informed  of  the 
true  state  of  the  case,  and  that  they  were  prisoners  of  war,  many 
of  them  loudly  refused  to  obej ,  others  shed  tears  of  rage ;  some 
broke  their  guns  over  the  pickets  behind  wiiicli  they  were 
standing. 

When  at  Maiden,  news  of  the  massacre  of  their  wounded 
comrades  reached  them,  disarmed,  the  scene  was  terrible.  Two 
or  three  had  left  brothers  behind  them,  who  they  thus  knew 
were  butchered,  and  all  lost  dear  friends  or  comrades.    It  was 


^1 


CHAP.  IV.] 


CAMP    MEIGS. 


145 


a  scene  of  such  poignatit  but  manly  grief  and  rage  as  might  have 
been  expected  from  su(  h  men  in  such  a  situation. 

After  being  detained  in  Maiden  four  days  they  were  conducted 
by  Detroit,  over  Lake  St.  Clair,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Thames,  up 
which  they  marched  90  miles,  thence  across  to  and  down  Grand 
River  to  Lake  Ontario  and  to  Fort  George,  all  the  time  through 
snow  and  very  cold  weather,  where  they  were  paroled  not  to 
serve  until  exchanged,  and  put  across  to  Fort  Niagara.  Henrie 
the  late  prisoners  travelled  to  Buffalo,  to  Erie,  to  Pittsburgh,  and 
down  to  Maysville  in  Kentucky,  and  home,  having  marched, 
during  the  campaign,  a  round  of  about  1.300  miles. 

General  Harrisop  was  warmly  v:ensured  and  defended  for  not 
immediately  advancing  to  avenge  General  Winchester's  defeat, 
when  he  met  some  of  the  fugitives  escaping  from  the  action.  The 
secretary  of  war,  Armstrong,  who  never  omitted  a  fling  at  him,  said 
that  Harrison  and  Proctor  were  always  the  terror  of  each  other, 
and  mostly  without  cause.  As  an  act  of  humanity,  Harrison  might 
have  run  every  risk  to  hasten  to  the  banks  of  the  river  Raisin.  Bat. 
as  a  military  commander,  with  all  the  responsibility  of  a  critical 
predicament,  without  personal  apprehension,  he  might  well  hesi- 
tate to  go.  That  consideration  often  deters  the  bravest  men. 
General  Harrison,  always  brave,  was  seldom  bold ;  and  if,  when 
he  considered  the  case  desperate,  he  had  advanced,  that  very 
sentiment  would  have  prevented  his  success,  and  might  have 
much  increased  the  disaster.  The  whole  frontier  and  campaign 
were  in  his  charge.  If  his  defeat  or  capture  had  been  superadded 
to  that  of  Winchester,  the  campaign  would  have  ended  by  laying 
bare  the  frontiers  of  Ohio  and  Pennsylvania  to  Indian  depreda- 
tions and  probably  extensive  devastation. 

Retreating  therefore  to  his  post  on  the  Miami,  he  went  to  work 
to  fortify  it  by  the  title  of  camp  Meigs;  all  further  advance  into 
the  enemv's  territories  being  necessarily  abandoned  for  the  pre- 
sent. Instead  of  invading  and  retaking  Michigan,  American 
hostilities  were  reduced  to  defending  the  western  states  from 
invasion  by  the  allied  English  and  Indians,  for  which  purpose 
Fort  Meigs  was  a  useful,  if  not  indispensable  rampart.  By 
Winchester's  defeat  and  the  failure  of  Harrison's  winter  campaign, 
to  whatever  causes  attributable,  and  whoever  was  to  blame,  if 
any  one,  more  than  the  inexperience  of  most  of  the  commatiding 
officers,  and  the  rawness  of  all  the  troops,  the  whole  character  of 
VOL.  I. — 13 


ir-  'II,.,.  -v 


ri-n...Mill 


h: 


'm. 


-:   1 


«r. 


;t:'r 


146 


CAMP    MEIGS. 


[MAY,  1813. 


l^ 


-n  ,■■. 


hostilities  was  reversed,  and  we  were  thrown  back  upon  the 
defensive,  until  Perry  gainea  his  victory  upon  Lake  Erie.  Fort 
Meigs,  by  Geneval  Harrison's  direction,  was  skillfully  constructed 
by  Colonel  Wood,  an  excellent  engineer,  killed  next  year  at  the 
boldest  and  most  brilliant  exploit  of  the  whole  northern  war, — 
the  sortie  under  General  Brown  from  Fort  Erie.  General  Har- 
rison withstood  two  sieges  in  Fort  Meigs,  of  which  the  president 
in  his  annual  message  to  Congress,  when  we  met  in  December 
that  year,  made  the  usual  felicitous  display  for  a  state  paper  not 
abounding  in  materials  for  public  exultation.  But  I  shall  not 
dwell  upon  those  passive  sieges,  because  though  there  were  oc- 
currences there  deserving  recollection,  yet  others  are  now  at  hand 
of  more  importance,  particularly  an  American  victory  on  land 
which  took  place  the  2d  of  August,  1813,  the  last  day  of  the  first 
session  of  Congress  that  year,  that  seemed  to  be  a  turning  point 
in  the  fortunes  of  our  warfare  in  the  west;  for  with  Croghan's 
success  English  reverses  began  which  led  to  their  expulsion  from 
that  region.  Fort  Meigs  was  besieged  by  Proctor  and  Tecumseh, 
with  several  thousand  English  and  Indians  approaching  by  land 
and  water,  who,  after  many  days  bombardment,  were  compelled 
to  retire.  Indians,  even  under  so  valiant  a  leader  as  Tecumseh, 
are  of  little  use  for  besieging  a  fortified  place ;  and  without  the 
Indians,  the  English  seldom  performed  much.  On  the  5th  of 
May,  General  Green  Clay  arrived  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Fort 
Meigs  with  twelve  hundred  fresh  Kentucky  militia,  destined,  like 
those  in  January,  to  partial  success,  and  then  great  discomfiture. 
They  were  ordered  by  General  Harrison  to  attack  the  British  re- 
doubts on  one  side  of  the  river,  in  concert  with  a  sortie  from  Fort 
Meigs,  which  vigorously  assailed  the  enemy  on  the  other  side. 
The  sortie  was  headed  by  Colonel  John  Miller,  of  the  19th  regi- 
ment of  regulars,  afterwards  Governor  of  Missouri,  who  was  a 
member  with  me  of  the  twenty-seventh  Congress.  General  Harri- 
son's plan  on  this  occasion  was  not  only  good  but  well  executed, 
but  for  one  of  »hose  misfortunes  which  seemed  to  be  inseparable 
from  our  arms  until  to  superabundant  bravery  our  men  added 
knowledge  of  the  art  of  war.  Obedience,  subordination,  unity  of 
action  in  different  corps  are  lessons  to  be  learned  by  the  bravest 
men,  without  which,  success  in  arras  is  extremely  problematical. 
General  Harrison's  orders  to  Clay's  corps  were  positive  to  make 
their  way  into  Fort  Meigs  as  soon  as  they  drove  the  English 


regu! 


CHAP.  IV.] 


AMERICAN     DEFEAT. 


147 


from  the  position  assigned  f*"  their  attack.  Botli  the  attacks 
succeeded  completely.  Miller  with  the  regulars  gallantly  stormed 
the  redoubts  on  one  side,  while  the  Kentucky  militia  with  equal 
celerity  drove  the  Ikitish  and  Indians  before  them  on  the  other 
side.  But  eager  to  pursue  the  Indians,  and  disregarding  tlieir 
orders,  they  strayed  so  far  in  pursuit  of  the  retreating  enemy  as  to 
illow  Proctor  and  Tecumsch  to  intercept,  surround,  and  overcome 
them.  One  half  their  number  was  either  killed  or  taken.  Not 
more  than  a  moiety  of  (leneral  Clay's  troops  made  good  their 
arrival  at  Fort  Meigs.  Thus  another  reverse  was  the  result  of 
rash  confidence,  and  Avant  of  discipline,  the  insensibility  of  inex- 
poiieiiced  troops  to  the  vital  importance  of  implicit  obedience, 
perhaps  on  this,  aT  on  many  other  occasions,  to  the  want  of  that 
energetic  control  by  a  commander,  without  which,  even  discipline 
and  obedience  often  fail.  Hitherto  war  had  been  confuKod  to  the 
sorry  endeavour  to  defend  the  country  from  invasion,  while  i?o 
numerical  and  physical  power,  if  well  directed,  was  able  to  have 
made  itself  felt  in  large  conquests  of  extensive  Ibreign  territories. 
General  Harrison,  leaving  Fort  Meigs  in  charge  of  General  Clay, 
busied  himself  during  the  rest  of  the  summer  of  1813  elsewhere 
in  further  preparations  to  recover  the  ground  which  Hull  lost, 
and  he  would  hardly  have  been  able  to  regain,  but  for  the  cap- 
ture of  the  British  fleet  «n  the  lake  ;  for  which  Captain  Perry 
was  building  vessels  at  Ji^rie,  in  Pennsylvania ;  the  British  fleet 
under  Commodore  Barclay  holding  the  undisputed  command. 
Nearly  two  summers,  an  autumn  and  spring  of  gloomy  discom- 
fitures and  wretched  mismanagement  had  occurred  since  the  de- 
claration of  war,  with  scarce  one  solitary  gleam  of  relief  by  land, 
where  our  strength  and  English  weakness  were  supposed  to  be. 
At  length, on  theday  Congress  adjourned,  the  2d  August,  1813, our 
first  success  in  the  northwest  broke  out  from  unexpected  circum- 
stances. Harrison  had  stationed  a  very  young  captain  of  the 
regular  army,  George  Croghan,  with  a  few  also  very  young  com- 
panions, about  150,  in  a  weak  fort  called  Fort  Stephenson,  on 
lower  Sandusky,  a  place  not  well  chosen  for  the  purpose,  whose 
yoi'.ng  commander  was  left  in  it  with  perplexing  orders.  Croghan's 
orders  from  Harrison  were  to  abandon  the  fort,  should  the  enemy 
approach  in  force,  with  caimon,  and  retreat,  should  retreat  then 
be  practicable.  Proctor  and  Tecumseh  advanced  upon  Fort  Ste- 
phenson in  such  force  that  to  retreat  was  much  more  hazardous 


1      :  .  Iv" 


-:lf'| 


%\ 


.  i 


m 


148 


FORT    STEP'   ENSON. 


[AUG.,  1813. 


\--< 


■  'r  > 


,  I'- 


than  to  remain.  Captain  Croghan,  however,  required  no  such 
dilemma  to  induce  his  answering  Proctor's  summons  with  defi- 
•uice.  Jiy  this  time  the  savages  had  become  the  boast,  as  well  as 
the  power  of  General  Proctor,  who  sent  to  Croghan  the  hackneyed 
menace  of  indiscriminate  slaughter  by  ungovernable  Indians,  if 
the  fort  was  not  surrendered  without  assault.  The  brave  young 
commander  answered  that  it  was  his  duty  to  defend  it  and  that 
he  should  do  his  duty.  The  bearer  of  the  summons  to  surren- 
der was  the  half-breed  Elliott,  who  said  at  the  massacre  on  the 
Raisin,  that  Indians  are  excellent  surgeons.  Hull's  dread  of 
fliem  produced  his  deplorable  surrender  a  year  before.  Vile  use 
made  by  Proctor,  with  Elliott's  aid,  of  the  terror  of  the  savages 
was  attended  by  fatal  consequences  at  the  river  Raisin.  But 
this  contrivance  had  no  effect  at  Fort  Stephenson. — There  was 
but  one  cannon  in  that  poor  fort,  v  t^i'  h  required  great  good 
management  and  good  fortune,  as  well  as  calm  courage,  to 
defend  it  and  repulse  the  assault,  as  was  admirably  done.  In 
the  broad  day-light  of  a  dog-day  sun,  it  was  attempted,  with  the 
confidence  then  become  habitual  with  the  British  soldiery,  who 
had,  as  yet,  never  failed,  by  force  or  fraud,  to  vanquish  our 
people.  Deserted  by  their  savage  allies,  who  are  of  little  use 
lor  storming  T-^rts,  the  English  were  gallantly  and  profanely  led  to 
the  assault  hy  Lieutenant-Colonel  Short,  cheering  on  his  follow- 
ers, with  oaths,  to  give  no  quarter  to  the  Americans.  By  a  well- 
directed  discharge  of  their  solitary  cannon,  reserved  till  the 
proper  moment,  the  assailants  were  so  many  of  them  killed, 
That  thtir  repi:'se  was  complete,  and  our  victory  instantaneous. 
Proctor  and  Tecumseh  then  led  their  forces  back  to  Maiden. 
Small  as  this  harbinger  of  our  successes  in  the  northwest  was,  it 
was  hailed  with  great  and  general  gratification.  The  author  of 
the  manifesto  of  the  causes  and  character  of  the  war,  Mr.  Dallas, 
was  my  communicant  of  the  news,  as  I  was  his  next  year  of  the 
victory  at  New  Orleans  to  him. 

During  the  affair  at  Fort  Stephenson,  General  Harrison,  a 
humane  and  kindly  disposed  man,  never  confident,  much  less 
sanguinary,  was  distressed  at  Fort  Meigs  by  apprehensions  for 
the  result.  The  enemy's  force  was  so  superior,  and  the  young 
men  in  charge  of  the  fort  so  inexperienced,  that  he  feared  the 
worst  consequenciis. 

Six  weeks  after  that  beginning,  Perry's  capture  of  the  British 


riFAP.  IV.] 


PERRY'S    VICTORY. 


149 


fleet  on  Lake  Erie,  opened  the  way  to  Harrison's  capture  of 
Froctor  on  the  Thames,  and  the  relief  of  the  entire  west  from 
Mritisli  thraldom ;  except,  however  Mackinaw,  which  they  con- 
tinued to  hold.  An  expedition  n  its  recapture  by  Croghan 
failed  for  want  of  ade([uate  force,  without  coming  to  blows  ; 
and  neec.  not,  therefore,  be  more  than  tims  cursorily  mentioned. 

Two  cf  the  most  distinguished  American  authors,  Washington 
Irving,  in  the  Analectic  Review,  and  Fenimore  Cooper,  in  liis 
Naval  History,  have  described  the  battle  on  Lake  Erie;  of  which 
also  many  other  accounts  are  in  print.  It  would  be  sviperfiuous, 
therefore,  to  attempt  more  than  some  gleaning  after  those  abun- 
dant harvests  of  history.  From  the  moment  that  Captain  Perry, 
by  order  of  Commodore  Chauncey,  commander-in-chief  of  the 
lakes,  repaired  to  Lake  Erie,  his  conduct  was  uniformly  marked 
by  industry,  activity,  courage,  discretion,  and  the  success  sucli 
qualities  seldom  fail  to  yield.  From  first  to  last  the  superiority 
of  American  to  British  seamen  was  conspicuous.  Perry,  then 
twenty-seven  ye?rs  of  age,  was  a  volunteer  from  tlie  sea  to  the 
lake  se.vice,  in  search  of  distinction.  With  indefatigable  atten- 
tion and  excellent  judgment,  he  built,  equipped,  armed,  manned, 
and  got  his  fleet  upon  the  water,  with  great  expedition,  resolu- 
tion, and  adroitness  in  the  face  of  a  superior  enemy,  having 
command  of  the  lake,  blockading  Erie,  the  town  where  Perry's 
squadron  was  prepared  for  service,  atid  where  a  more  enterpriz- 
ing,  or  more  fortunate  or  strenuous  enemy  would  have  confined 
or  destroyed  it.  There  were  several  feet  less  water  on  the  bar 
at  Erie  than  were  required  to  float  the  American  vessels  out  of 
port,  which  was,  nevertheless,  accomplished,  in  spite  of  the 
British,  by  admirable  contrivance,  boldness,  and  seamanship. 
No  sooner  afloat  than  Perry  offered  battle  several  times,  always 
declined  by  his  antagonist,  though  the  British  force  was  superior. 
There  were  500  men  in  the  British  squadron,  against  400  in  the 
American.  Perry  and  many  of  his  men  were  disqualified  by 
lake  sickness,  and  when  they  captured  the  British  squadron, 
there  were  more  British  prisoners  than  Americans  to  take  charge 
of  them.  It  has  been  contended,  in  disparagement  of  Perry's 
merits,  that  but  few  of  the  British  crews  were  full  seamen,  many  of 
them  Canadians,  and  the  marines  artillerists  taken  from  the  forts. 
But  they  had  the  advantage  of  much  longer  service  on  the  lake, 
than  either  Perry  or  his  men,  some  of  whom  were  volunteers 

13* 


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150 


PERRY'S    VICTORY. 


[8KPT.,  1813. 


from  shore,  and  none  of  them  practised  in   lake  navigation. 
There  were  six  more  cannons  in  tlie  Hritish  than  in  the  American 
fleet;  the  Hritish  metal  was  probably  heavier,  so  it  was  always 
believed,  till  that  point  has  been  latterly  brought  into  question, 
and  their  gunpowder  was  much   better.     Still,  in  this,  as  in 
every  other  naval  engagement  throughout  the  war,  the  superi- 
ority of  American  gunnery  was  obvious.     How  can  it  be  other- 
wise, between  those  accustomed  to  the  constant  use  of  firearms, 
if  the  inhabitants  of  frontiers,  living  by  them  ;  and  Englishmen, 
of  whom   numbers  are  punished  every  year,  by  the  severe 
penalties  of  the  game  laws,  for  using  arms  at  all  ?     Nor  was 
there  as  much  alacrity  in  the  English  squadron  as  in  the  Ameri- 
can to  come  to  action.     It  is  not  certain  that  the  war  would  not 
have  ended  on  Lake  Erie,  as  it  did  on  Lake  Ontario,  without 
any  naval  engagement,  owing  to  the  British  marine  declining 
that  trial,  if  the  British  commander  on  Lake  Erie  had  not  been 
constrained  to  put  out  from  Maiden,  and  risk  a  general  action. 
By  remaining  tliere,  leaving  Perry  in  command  of  the  lake,  the 
English  forces  became  straitened  for  supplies,  and  Captain  Bar- 
clay had  no  option  but  to  put  out  and  fight,  when  he  encountered 
his  opponent.    Odious  comparisons  of  these  two  brave  commo- 
dores are  unnecessary,  and  were  never  introduced  by  American 
notices  of  their  conflict.     On  the  9th  September,  Barclay  sailed 
forth.    As  soon  as  Perry  heard  of  it,  on  the  10th,  he  also  made 
sail  from  Put-in-Bay,  where  his  fleet  was  at  anchor.    As  the  fleets 
ueared  each  other,  the  wind  was  unfavourable  to  Perry,  who  went 
to  battle  leaving  his  enemy  the  advantage  of  the  weather-gage. 
A  fortunate  change  of  wind  during  the  anxious  moments  of  ap- 
proximation gave  to  Perry  that  advantage  which  he  was  willing 
to  forego.     He  was  much  younger  than  the  English  commander, 
who  had  learned  his  duties  under  Nelson  at  the  battle  of  Trafal- 
gar, where  that  heroic  admiral  executed  the  master-stroke  of 
British  naval  superiority  by  breaking  through  the  opposing 
fleet,  cutting  it  asunder  and  subjecting  it  to  still  greater  disadvan- 
tage than  a  hostile  army  must  undergo  from  being  out-flanked 
and  beset  at  the  same  moment  rear  and  front.      Perry  and  his 
young  comrades  had  never  seen  the  effect  of  a  broadside.    The 
whole  art  of  naval  combat  by  fleets  was  a  mystery  to  them. 
But  their  enthusiasm  was  guided  by  that  calmness  which  is  the 
life  of  hostilities,  and  from  first  to  last  on  that  glorious  day, 


one, 


Hiv,:^ 


CHAP.  IV.] 


PERRY'S    VICTORY. 


151 


good  fortune  never  fuileil  to  attend  their  noble  daring.  Perry's 
ship,  leading  into  action,  for  a  long  time  bore  the  brunt.  When 
comnletely  disabled,  most  of  the  crew  killed  or  wounded,  guns 
dismounted,  equipments  dismantled,  the  vessel  a  mere  uimia- 
nageable  wreck,  Perry  himself,  without  a  scar,  under  the  influ- 
ence of  one  of  those  revelations  of  genius,  which  are  decisive, 
got  into  his  boat  and  had  himself  rowed,  through  showers  of 
musketry,  to  Elliott's  ship,  which  had  not  been  injured.  In 
that  uninjured  vessel,  after  a  short  consultation  between  those 
two  young  commanders.  Perry,  with  the  blessing  of  a  favour- 
able breeze  just  then  springing  up,  made  for  and  broke  through 
the  enemy's  line,  firing  broadsides  right  and  left  with  great  effect. 
At  the  same  time  Elliott,  by  similar  boldness,  got  into  Ins  boat 
and  rowing  through  a  shower  of  balls  which  covered  him  with 
their  splashing  in  the  water,  instantly  brought  up  the  smaller 
vessels  from  their  distant  places  to  support  their  commander.  In 
a  very  minutes  the  whole  British  fleet  was  subdued.  The  same 
afternoon  Perry  dispatched  his  classically  short  and  pregnant 
letters  to  General  Harrison  and  the  secretary  of  the  navy.  A 
month  afterwards,  on  the  8th  October,  1813,  the  Canadian  Com- 
mander-in-Chief Provost's  official  letter  to  Bathurst,  the  Colonial 
Secretary,  makes  the  remarkable  acknowledgment  that  all  Pre- 
vost  then  knew  of  the  defeat  of  the  British  squadron  on  Lake 
Erie  was  derived  from  the  American  account  of  it,  "the  only 
one,"  says  the  English  commander,  "  I  can  expect  to  receive  for 
a  great  length  of  time,  in  consequence  of  the  dangerous  situation 
of  Captain  Barclay,  and  of  the  death,  wounds,  or  captivity  of 
all  the  officers  serving  under  him." 

Barclay  took  his  fleet  out  of  port  to  fight,  because  otherwise, 
Perry  deprived  the  English  forces  of  supplies.  Perry  instantly 
led  out  his,  despising  the  nautical  superstition  that  Friday  is  un- 
lucky. He  saw,  or  thought  he  saw,  an  eagle  soaring  above  his 
masts,  on  whose  lofty  tops  thp  flag  of  his  country  waved  in 
western  sunshine,  cheerful  acceptance  of  the  omen. 

Commodore  Barclay's  official  dispatch,  dated  at  Put-in-Bay, 
Lake  Erie,  12th  Sept.  1813,  was  not  published  in  the  London 
Gazette  till  the  8th  of  February,  1814.  At  a  public  ball  given 
to  him  at  Terrebonne,  in  Canada,  on  the  20th  of  April,  Barclay's 
just  and  manly  toast  was  «  Commodore  Perry ^  the  gn.'lant  and 
generous  enemy."    The  candour  and  feeling  of  that  b.ave  man 


.i'^K 


152 


PERRY'S     VICTORY. 


[SEPT.,  1813. 


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were  contrasted  with  the  misconduct  of  Captain  Garden,  and 
many  other  British  officers  placed  in  a  similar  situation.  Barclay- 
dared  to  speak  the  truth,  which  was  no  small  daring  to  the 
British  government  and  people.  His  official  account  of  the  bat- 
tle, not  merely  confessed  the  reluctance  with  which  he  engaged 
in  it,  but  pleaded  the  small  number  of  experienced  British  sea- 
men in  his  squadron,  and  the  extreme  scarcity  of  provisions,  with 
which  both  the  land  and  naval  forces  of  the  English  in  that 
quarter  were  straitened.  He  was  obliged,  in  short,  he  said,  to 
relieve  himself  and  them  from  blockade  by  Perry's  squadron. 
In  fact,  we  were  indebted  to  Major-Gpneral  Proctor  for  the  capture 
of  Barclay's  fleet.  Urged  by  scarcity,  and  by  Proctor,  whose  in- 
structions Barclay  was  directed  to  consult,  and  whose  wishes  he 
was  enjoined  to  e.vecute,  the  English  commodore  ventured  forth 
to  the  necessity,  as  he  owned,  of  risking  a  battle.  His  object  was 
to  bring  Perry  to  action  among  the  islands,  which  was  frustrated 
by  the  fortunate  change  of  wind,  shifting  the  weather-gage 
from  the  English  to  the  American  squadron.  Barclay's  fleet 
fired  for  thirty  minutes  before  Perry  returned  a  shot.  The  day 
was  against  the  American  commodore  in  the  British  commodore's 
opinion,  when  the  Englishman  witnessed  the  American  trans- 
ferring his  flag  on  which  was  inscribed,  ''Don't  give  up  the  ship!" 
from  his  own  disabled  brig  to  the  fresh  and  uninjured  one  of  Cap- 
tain Elliott,  h'?"  second  in  command.  But  Lieutenant  George 
Inglis,  who  took  command  when  Barclay  was  obliged  to  go 
below,  wac3  soon  compelled  to  say  that  the  British  fla  j  was  struck 
when  he  and  Captain  Barclay  just  before  thought  they  had  the 
best  of  the  action.. 

Thoughtful  men  of  mature  age,  like  Harrison,  though  not 
fearing  danger  or  death,  still  dread  the  responsibility  of  decision 
and  the  disgrace  of  failure.  Young  men,  like  Croghan,  Perry 
and  Elliott,  fear  nothing,  but  brave  at  once,  both  the  responsi- 
bility and  the  danger.  Yet  in  all  their  conduct,  old  heads  were 
united  with  young  hearts.  As  the  professional  particulars  of  their 
conflict  are  vividly  explained  by  Mr.  Irving  and  Mr.  Cooper,  no- 
thing remains  for  commemoration  but  some  of  its  philosophy  and 
patriotism.  From  first  to  last  there  was,  as  it  were,  special  Pro- 
vidence in  the  whole  contest  on  Lake  Erie,  by  no  means  con- 
cluded in  national  vindication  with  the  victory.  Then  came  the 
young  victor's  noble  rebuke  of  British  inhumanity.  Ciiristie  says, 


CHAP.  IV.] 


PERRY'S    VICTORY. 


153 


"  the  prisoners  were  landed  at  Sandusky  and  treated  with  the 
gratest  humanity  by  the  American  commodore,  who  paroled  Cap- 
tain Barclay,  and  treated  that  gallant  officer  with  all  the  kindness 
and  attention  which  his  unsuccs  sful  bravery  deserved."  The 
bones  of  the  wounded  American  prisoners  murdered  in  cold 
blood  at  Frenchtown,  the  day  after  they  surrendered  to  English 
captors,  were  bleaching,  exposed,  unburied  on  the  banks  of  the 
Raisin.  The  common  decency  of  burial  had  been  denied  the 
brave  victims  of  that  massacre.  The  day  after  the  battle  on  the 
lake,  the  American  and  English  wounded  were  alike  and  toge- 
ther soothed  by  every  kindness  and  nursed  by  suitable  attend- 
ants. The  dead  of  both  nations  were  interred  on  the  next  Sun- 
day in  a  common  grave.  Military  honours  were  performed  at 
their  iuneral.  Religious  rites  consecrated  their  consignment  to 
the  earth.  After  the  English  left  the  victims  of  their  massacre 
on  the  Raisin  to  putrefy  on  the  earth,  for  hogs  to  mutilate  still 
further.  Colonel  Johnson  with  a  detachment  of  his  regiment,  in 
June,  gathered  and  buried  them.  As  Governor  Shelby  returned 
with  the  Kentucky  levies,  in  October,  after  Harrison's  victory  of 
the  Thames,  the  detestable  barbarism  was  discovered  of  the  mur- 
dered Kcntuckians  having  been  dragged  from  their  graves  and 
once  more  exposed  on  the  surface  of  the  ground ;  they  were  again, 
for  the  second  and  last  time,  under  Shelby's  superintendence, 
gathered  and  interred. 

Mr.  Washington  Irving,  in  his  account  of  the  naval  engpge- 
ments  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  without  di- 
rect disparagement  of  his  countrymen,  indi  ct\y  does  them  injus- 
tice by  not  contrasting  their  uniform  humanity  and  gentlemanly 
kindness,  with  the  rough,  supercilious,  and  often  cruel  behaviour 
which  marked  the  English  officers.  Not  to  mention  these  cir- 
cumstances would  be  to  suppress  the  truth  of  history,  and  the  just 
characteristics  of  kindred  nations  brought  into  national  collision. 
Making  every  allowance  for  the  prejudices  which  must  necessa- 
rily obscure  such  a  topic,  it  is  nevertheless  undeniable,  that,  in 
general,  the  English  were  haughty,  harsh,  and  sometimes  cruel ; 
while  the  Americans  were  hardly  ever,  if  ever  so.  Especially 
is  this  vindication  of  the  American  character  appropriate,  when- 
ever western  or  frontier  Americans,  particularly  Kentuckians, 
came  to  blows  with  the  English.  The  Kentuckians  were  men- 
tioned in  all  English  accounts  as  barbarians,  not  much  less  fero- 


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154 


PERRY'S     VICTORY, 


[SEPT.,  1813. 


cious  than  the  Indians.  Yet  certainly  their  breeding  and  humanity- 
were  superior  to  the  Etighsh.  May  habitual  European  insolence 
and  habitual  American  reverence  be  imputed  to  arrogated  supe- 
riority of  the  old  world,  and  assumed  inferiority  of  the  new  ? 
Never  afraid  to  figlit  their  foes,  the  Americans  seemed,  neverthe- 
less, over  anxious  for  their  good  will,  and  solicitous  of  their  con- 
descension. Commodore  Barclay's  official  account  of  his  defeat 
ascribes  it,  mainly,  to  the  want  of  British  seamen,  and  the  sub- 
stitution of  Canadians  in  their  places;  when  certainly,  the  Cana- 
dian boatmen,  for  lake  service,  are  much  better  qualified, and  the 
American  seamen  more  active,  intelligent,  enterprising,  triv  iable 
and  sober  than  the  boasted  British  mariner.  National  compari- 
son may  have,  at  least,  the  salutary  effect  of  satisfying  Americans 
that  they  are  equal  to  Englishmen  ;  a  conviction  which,  till  the 
war  of  1812,  had  but  little  foothold  in  this  country,  was  derided 
in  Great  Britain,  and  discountenanced  throughout  Europe. 

Mr.  Christie  angrily  and  effectually  rebukes  and  disproves  the 
preposterous  English  arrogance  which  assigns  to  all  mankind, 
even  Welshmen,  Scotchmen,  and  Irishmen,  (not  only  Germans, 
Spaniards,  Frenchmen  and  Americans,)  inferiority  to  En^'hshmen, 
arrogance  to  which  too  many  \mericans  yield.  Christie  says, 
"  that  the  provincial  officers  compelleJ  to  f;  II  into  the  rear  of  those 
of  the  royal  navy,  were  uniformly  successful,  and  not  excelled 
by  any  thing  performed  on  the  lakes  by  the  officers  of  the  navy 
who  superseded  the  provincial  officers.  The  former  were,  per- 
haps, superior  in  tactics,  and  cherished  a  hearty,  though  mistaken 
contempt  for  the  Americans,  in  which  they  have  been  since  wo- 
fuUy  undeceived.  The  provincial  officers  were  surely  not  less 
brave,  though  more  prudent  than  the  former,  and  as  things  have 
turned  out,  our  fleets  on  Lakes  Erie  and  Champlain  might  as  well 
have  been  entrusted  to  provincial,  as  navy  officers.  The  former 
with  one  or  two  exceptions,  have  been  always  more  successful 
©n  the  lakes  than  the  latter."  Such  is  the  sentiment  of  a  British 
subject  on  the  unworthy  attempt  to  depreciate  the  victory  on 
Lake  Erie  because  won  over  Canadian  not  British  seamen.  Na- 
tional vanity  is  often  the  worst  of  national  prejudices. 

Long  after  Perry's  success,  controversy  arose  between  detract- 
ors and  supporters  of  Captain  Elliott,  as  to  his  share  in  the  Lake 
Erie  triumph.  Harrison  and  Johnson's  respective  adherents  have 
also  contested  the  merit  of  suddenly  suggesting  the  charge  of 


il;' 


CHAP.  IV.] 


PERRY    AND    ELLIOTT. 


155 


I 


cavalry  by  which  the  latter  accomplished  the  former's  victory  at 
the  Thames :  idle  and  invidious  controversies.  Hamilton's  in- 
discreet admirers  would  deprive  Washington  of  the  merit  of  his 
farewell  address  to  his  countrymen.  Cannot  the  invidious  aiJ 
envious  see  that  great  occasions  yield  credit  enough  for  all  par- 
ties to  them ;  and  that  each  diminishes  his  own  by  begrudging  or 
disparaging  another's?  The  debasing  infatuation  of  envy,  Ho- 
race says,  characterizes  mediocrity  ;  and  Ovid  calls  it  its  own  ex- 
ecutioner. Perry's  success  by  water,  which  superinduced  Har- 
rison's by  land,  broke  down  the  Indian  and  English  alliance,  and 
relieved  the  whole  west  from  farther  molestation.  In  such  achieve- 
ments there  is  glory  enough  for  all  participants.  The  scale  of 
operations  was  smaller,  the  fleets  and  iioops  less  numerous  than 
in  the  great  conflicts  of  European  hostilities.  But  territories 
were  freed  from  molestation  more  extensive  than  the  islands  of 
Great  Britain. 

"^he  naval  action  on  Lake  Erie  abounded  in  dramatic  incidents, 
*"' ,  }Ti  St  of  which,  however,  the  public  are  familiar.  Friday, 
It'fii  '  ^t.,  1813,  was  a  clear  day  of  western  sunshine.  The  lake 
was  placid,  with  a  gentle  ripple  at  first,  afterwards  increasing  with 
the  wind  to  greater  undulations  of  the  waves.  The  British  ships 
were  all  fresh  painted,  their  canvas  perfectly  white  as  displayed 
to  the  wind,  and  as  they  approached  the  American  squadron,  fine 
English  bands  of  music  played  Rule  Britannia.  When  the  British 
bugle  sounded  for  action,  the  crews  of  their  vessels  gave  loud 
huzzas ;  cheering  throughout  the  action,  as  they  generally  do 
more  than  ours.  On  board  the  British  commodore's  ship,  the 
Detroit,  there  were  three  Indian  warriors,  making  their  first  essay 
in  naval  combat.  They  were  placed  in  the  round  tops,  with 
rifles,  to  pick  off"  the  American  officers.  It  was  a  bright  cloud- 
less morning,  and  the  savages  took  their  novel  stations  with  great 
ardour  for  the  kind  of  bloodshed  they  delight  in.  The  action 
beginning  with  the  fleets  considerably  separated,  rifle  shooting 
was  of  no  use,  while  broadsides  reverberated  over  the  waters 
and  cannon  balls  whistled  through  the  rigging  too  near  the  In- 
dians for  their  encouragement ;  they  therefore  went  down  upon 
the  deck.  That,  when  the  vessels  closed,  was  a  still  more  dan- 
gerous position,  covered  with  dead  and  wounded,  broken  spars 
and  dismantled  equipments.  The  three  warriors  went  below, 
where  they  were  found  concealed  by  the  American  officer  who 


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v-v  •?• 


156 


PERRY'S    VICTORY. 


[SEPT.,  1813. 


took  possession  of  the  Detroit.  Her  colours  were  nailed  to  the 
mast,  and  were  with  some  difficulty  taken  down  by  the  Ameri- 
cans extracting  the  nails.  There  was  also  a  large  bear  on  board 
that  vessel,  which  was  found  in  the  enjoyment  of  lapping  the  blood 
from  her  decks  after  the  battle. 

Thus  by  the  heroism  and  good  fortune  of  a  young  man,  Oliver 
Hazard  Perry,  of  Rhode  Island,  whose  father  Captain  Christo- 
pher Perry,  commanded  the  frigate  General  Greene  in  the  war  of 
the  Revolution,  and  whose  two  brothers  were  at  the  time  of  this 
victory  serving  on  board  the  frigate  President,  was  the  tide  of 
American  success  in  the  northwest,  turned  at  once  from  ebb  to 
flood  Without  a  spar  v^hen  lie  began  to  cope  with  a  command- 
ing British  squadron  on  Lake  Erie,  Perry  raised  a  fleet  from  the 
surrounding  forests,  and  in  a  single  summer  extinguished  forever 
the  power  of  Great  Britain  on  the  American  lakes,  and  liberated 
forever  several  of  these  United  States  from  Indian  molestation. 
The  three  Secretaries  of  the  Navy  during  that  war,  Hamilton, 
Jones  and  Crowninshield,  had,  no  one  of  them,  adequate  ideas  of 
our  commanding  the  lakes.  General  Armstrong  boasted  that  he 
suggested  it.  Whoever  did  so, it  was  Perry  by  whom  the  achieve- 
ment was  performed  ;  for  his  complete  triumph  did  not  stop  with 
Erie,  but  shed  its  encouraging  influences  on  Ontario  and  Ciiam- 
plain.  Since  the  battle  of  Lake  Erie,  Great  Britain  has  expended 
large  sunii;  constructed  the  Welland  and  Rideau  canals,  and 
what  Perry  could  not  then  conceive,  steam  has  unlocked  the  wa- 
ters of  America  to  wonderful  navigation.  Europe  and  America, 
then  a  month  or  more,  are  now  only  a  fortnight  or  less  apart ; 
Liverpool  and  Bristol  draw  nigh  the  seaports  of  Cleveland, 
Detroit  and  Mackinaw. 

Such  is  reality  and  history.  What  will  fiction  and  romance 
make  of  the  lake  regions  for  the  part  which  their  wonderful  des- 
tinies hereafter  are  unfolding?  A  naval  engagement,  by  con- 
siderable fleets,  many  hundred  miles  from  the  high  seas,  on  the 
vast  fresh  water  Mediterranean  oceans  of  this  continent  signal- 
ized the  seamanship  and  enterprize  of  two  kindred  people.  They 
spoke  the  same  language,  their  complexion  was  the  same.  Thou- 
sands of  red  warriors  anxiously  awaited  the  issue  on  the  surround- 
ing shores;  which, for  the  distance  of  a  hundred  miles  heard  the 
reports  of  their  broadsides,  carried  by  water  over  that  great  space. 
While  these  hordes  of  red  savages  listened  all  around  for  who 


! 


CHAP.  IV.] 


LAKE    WAR. 


167 


should  be  their  masters,  another  race,  of  a  different  colour  from 
either,  neither  white  nor  red,  but  black,  was  also  awaiting  else- 
where the  result  as  decisive  of  their  fate.  May  not  romance  and 
poetry  find  pathos  and  legend  in  these  occurrences  ?  From  the 
copper  mines  of  Lake  Superior,  through  Huron,  Michigan,  and 
Erie,  to  the  rushing  falls  of  Niagara,  what  regions  for  industry,  for 
history,  and  for  poetry!  The  limitary  St.  Lawrence,  flowing  north, 
while  alfoosi  every  other  great  river  of  this  continent  pursues  a 
southern  course,  i^eems  to  declare  itself  a  British  stream ;  a  world 
of  magn'ficent  w  iters  and  territories,  yet  to  be  disputed  between 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  States,  but  whose  Innumerable 
millions  of  inhabit?nts  are  all  to  speak  English,  extending  from 
Nova  Scotia  to  Oregon,  thence  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  As  indus- 
try improves  this  new  world,  history  will  tell  of  its  original  inha- 
bitants, and  poetry  embellish  the  accounts.  Two  hundred  years 
before  Perry  and  Barclay  fought  on  Lake  Erie,  an  Indian  tradi- 
tion, as  narrated  by  Walk-in-the-water,  a  Wyandot  chieftain, 
preserves  the  particulars  of  a  naval  engagement  there,  as  follows 
— not  more  legendary  than  most  histories. 


>-/ 


vol..  I. — 14 


,-'\:-;.n 


158 


INDIAN    WARFARE. 


[t«13. 


1^ 


CHATTER    V 


'4.1':,  r  ■ 


}■  '^••J; 


WALK-IN-THE-WATER'S  TRADITION  OF  THE  INDIAN  NAVAL  ENGAGE- 
MENT ON  LAKE  ERIE. 

The  Wyaiidots  are  considerably  advanced  in  civilization, 
familiar  with  much  of  its  arts,  manners  and  customs.  They  are 
Roman  Catliolic  Christians,  converted  probably  by  early  French 
missionaries,  to  that  persuasion.  In  181 3,  they  had  a  fine  steepled 
church  at  Sandwich,  opposite  to  Detroit.  Many  of  their  head 
men  had  been  at  Washington,  as  well  as  at  the  Canadian  seats  of 
refined  life,  with  which  they  were  not  unacquainted.  The  Eng- 
lish provincial  authorities  had  long  courted  theiralliance,  and  they 
were  decided  in  adhesion  to  their  father,  the  King  of  Great  Bri- 
tain, who  supplied  them  with  arms,  and  other  objects  of  desire. 
Their  language  is  unlike  that  oi'  all  the  other  tribes  of  the  west, 
which  appear  to  be  dialects  of  the  same  tongue.  But  that  of  the 
Wyandots  is  peculiar  to  themselves,  not  a  word  common  to  the 
rest.  One  of  its  singularities  is,  that  it  is  without  labials,  so  that 
they  speak  always  with  the  mouth  open.  In  other  respects,  like 
all  savages,  the  Wyandots  resemble  all  mankind  in  attachment  to 
roving,  warring,  and  idle  life.  Like  the  rest,  too,  they  are  addicted 
to  merriment,  jocularity  and  good  cheer.  A  vein  of  irony,  with 
touches  of  European  allusion,  in  the  following  narrative,  may  be 
ascribable  to  others  than  the  Wyandot  chief  The  substance, 
however,  especially  the  facts  of  an  elopement,  war,  naval  engage- 
ment and  the  national  results  are  Walk-in-the-water*s  own  story. 

More  than  two  hundred  snows  ago,  (about  the  time  of  the 
earliest  English  settlements  in  Virginia  and  Massachusetts,  be- 
fore Pennsylvania,  or  most  of  the  other  states  were  occupied 
but  by  Indians),  the  Wyandot  nation  dwelt  on  the  northern  side 
of  Lake  Ontario,  and  the  river  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  portion  of 
Canada  stretchinfj  from  Kingston  to  Toronto;  at  least  tl.eir 
hunting  grounc  s  extended  over  that  space,  embracing  in  their 
range  the  Falls  o^  Niagara.    The  Seneca  Indians  then  inhabited 


'iXf 


CHAP,  v.] 


INDIAN    WARFARE. 


159 


the  eastern  or  southern  side  of  that  river  and  lake,  in  what  are 
now  the  western  counties  of  the  state  of  New  York.  The 
VVyandots  and  Senecas  were  too  near  neighbours  not  to  be 
enemies.  They  quarreled  about  fishing  grounds,  game  pre- 
serves, and  other  subjects  of  dispute,  which  produced  frequent 
hostilities,  and  continual  nimosity,  till  at  the  time  before  mention- 
ed exterminating  war  broke  out,  and  closed  with  the  destructive 
naval  action  on  Lake  Erie,  of  which  that  of  Perry  and  Barclay 
drew  this  traditionary  account  f-om  Walk-in-the-water. — The 
cause  of  thio  fatal  and  final  struggle,  was  the  same  which  brought 
siu  into  the  world  with  all  its  woes,  the  same  which  inspired 
Homer's  Iliad,  the  same  which  led  Louis  the  Fourteenth  to  ravage 
the  fairest  part;?  of  G^imany,  the  cause  of  much  of  the  troubles  of 
mankind — an  .ipchaste  woman.  The  wife  of  a  Seneca  chief  ena- 
moured a  Wyandot  warrior.  In  summer  he  paddled  his  canoe, 
in  winter  ha  crossed  on  the  ice  over  the  waters,  mostly  by  night, 
to  visit  this  squaw.  Tall  and  straight,  with  long  black  hair,  the 
only  covering  of  her  neck  and  person  to  the  waist,  a  girdle  of 
deer  skin  was  her  whole  dress,  bear's  grease  her  cosmetic,  bone 
bracelets  and  shells  hrr  lew  ornaments.  Her  feet  were  as  large 
as  those  which  ancient  statues  attribute  to  goddesses  contrary  to 
modern  taste.  She  painted  freely — several  coats.  Water  was 
her  looking-glass,  and  smoking  her  chief  recreation.  She  was  cook, 
gardener,  nurse  and  chamber-maid ;  what  little  vegetable  food  was 
used  in  the  family  she  sowed,  gathered,  boiled  and  dished ;  sewed 
hides  with  fish  bones,  ground  Indian  corn  between  stones  in  her 
lap,  of  which  she  had  not  much,  as  she  wore  no  petticoats  or 
shift  Her  Wyandot  lover  was  marked  all  over  by  figures  of 
birds,  beasts,  and  reptiles,  indelibly  burned  into  his  skin  by  red 
hot  charcoal.  His  ears  were  cut  so  as  to  be  hung  with  much 
larger  pendants  than  ladies  can  attach  to  the  ear  not  prepared 
in  that  way.  He  had  large  pendants  at  his  nose,  too  ;  feathers  in 
tufts  on  his  head,  and  sometimes  so  fastened  to  his  person  behind 
as  to  look  like  the  tail  of  a  pheasant  or  peacock.  He  was  as 
vain  of  dress  as  George  the  Fourth,  whose  bast  years,  after  the 
vices  of  youth,  were  spent  in  devising  ornamimts  either  for  per- 
sons, furniture,  or  houses.  The  pretext  for  the  W^yandot's  visits  to 
the  woman  he  had  seduced,  was  gambling  with  her  husband,  of 
which  high-bred  entertainment  they  were  passionately  fond.  With 
pebbles  and  shells  for  dice,  they  played  for  bear's  meat  and  deer 


■  ■■:(:.  . 


..::':->*•-:;>• 


.i,. is  Iff! 


mm 


f.l.-.'' 
l•■■^■.■ 


t  '  ''■■'.  ' 


■t\hSl 


If. 

f      'v^   i,  ...    .-  .'-.v.! 


160 


INDIAN    WARFARE. 


[1613. 


skins,  till  at  or^e  excited  bout  the  Seneca  staked  his  wife,  and  the 
Wyandot  won  her.  The  Seneca  refused  to  pay  this  debt  of 
honour.  The  Wyandot  challenged  him  to  fight  with  stone  toma- 
hawks, stone  headed  arrows,  or  any  other  weapons  at  any  distance 
the  Seneca  might  choose,  to  whom  belonged  the  choice  of  time, 
place  and  instruments.  Instead  of  personal  satisfaction,  however, 
the  aflair  took  a  worse  turn.  The  lover  administered  philters 
to  the  unconscious  female  in  snake  soup,  of  which  she  was  fond. 
He  iiad  besides  consulted  the  stars  and  operated  on  her  nervous 
system  by  sorcery  and  signs  ;  and  so  undermined  or  overcome 
her  fidelity,  that  one  stormy  night  in  the  dead  of  winter  she  eloped 
with  him.  She  was  neither  young  nor  handsome,  had  several 
surviving  children,  besides  some  she  had  drowned  with  her  hus- 
band's help,  because  they  were  born  weak  or  ugly ;  and  was  of 
that  mature  age  when  elegant  and  educated  ladies  leave  their 
husbands  and  children  to  elope  with  lovers.  Vagaries  of  love 
are  less  the  resort  of  the  young  and  handsome,  than  their  elders, 
Hud  increase  with  age  in  both  sexes.  The  Queen  of  England 
lately  conferred  a  dukedom  on  an  old  woman  for  clandestine 
union  with  her  uncle  the  Duke  of  Sussex.  The  late  devout  kings 
of  Prussia  and  Holland,  both  set  their  adult  children  the  example 
of  marrying  contrary  to  law.  In  the  illegitimate  connection  of 
the  Wyandot  chief  with  the  Seneca  married  woman,  there 
was  nothing  unusual.  The  lover  plucked  his  beard  with  more 
than  usual  attention,  so  as  to  leave  not  a  hair  on  his  chin, 
cut  the  hair  from  his  head,  all  except  the  coronal  lock  which 
;,'racefully  fell  in  plaits  down  his  back,  tied  up  his  stomach  tight, 
so  as  to  mortify  hunger,  put  on  snow-shoes  to  prevent  sinking  in 
that  hindrance,  and  every  way  prepared  for  a  long  journey,  car- 
ried off  the  squaw  while  her  husband  was  abroad  and  the  children 
asleep.  Before  his  return  the  guilty  couple  were  far  away  to- 
wards the  north-west. 

The  flight  of  the  lovers  was  through  vast  forests,  deep  paved 
with  snow,  leafless,  storm  shaken,  and  to  all  but  lovers,  might 
have  seemed  cold  and  dreary.  But  the  runagates  slept  happily  on 
their  bear  skin,  and  took  long  walks  with  short  rests,  out  of  reach 
of  any  combination  of  pursuers.  They  reposed  one  night  at  the 
Falls  of  Niagara.  That  magnificent  mist  was  then  environed  by 
various  forms  of  waters  frozen  into  innumerable  sparkling  and 
grotesque  crystalizations.    Icicles  of  immense  size  hung  from 


titlifialsjj" 


CHAP,  v.] 


INDIAN    WARFARE. 


161 


the  precipice  glittering  vith  prismatic  brilliancy.  The  eternal 
roar  of  the  waterfall  was  Jeadened  by  sharp  cold,  though  the 
air  was  more  resonant  than  usual.  All  was  vast  solitude  of  inter- 
minable desert,  the  wind  moaning  through  the  leafless  branches 
of  gigantic  trees :  vast  solitude,  and  awful  silence.  No  human 
being,  bird,  reptile,  or  beast  was  sec^n  or  heard.  How  long  had 
that  prodigious  waste  of  water  been  tumbling,  unknown  to  sci- 
ence and  to  admiration  ?  Had  Esquimaux,  or  other  Northmen, 
ever  strayed  around  the  marvellous  cascade  ?  Had  the  mammoth 
or  the  mastodon  drunk  of  the  stream,  or  even  the  eagle  perched 
on  the  cra^s?  The  Wyandot  scarcely  looked  at  it ;  he  had  often 
been  there  before.  To  the  squaw  it  was  a  new  scene.  But 
amazement  is  an  emotion  .vhich  barbarism  and  politeness  coincide 
in  never  betraying :  the  same  rule  of  action  exists  for  the  stupid 
and  the  elegant.  The  Indian  lovers  spread  their  bear  skin  on 
the  snow,  and  slept  undisturbed  by  wonder,  cold,  or  any  thought 
but  of  pursuit,  which  they  assured  each  other  was  not  to  be  appre- 
hended. Learning  or  luxury  had  not  enlightened  or  unnerved 
them.  After  a  short  repose  they  set  off  again  on  their  journey, 
keeping  along  the  northern  side  of  Lake  Erie,  with  such  constant 
swiftness,  that  before  long  they  reached  St.  Clair,  crossed  the  strait 
on  the  ice,  were  welcomed  by  the  Potawattomies  to  their  settle- 
ments, with  whom  the  Wyandot  had  met  on  hunting  excursions; 
and  for  several  weeks  the  lovers  did  little  else  but  sleep,  the  great 
enjoyment  and  chief  occupation  of  savages  after  any  exploit  or 
excitement. 

As  soon  as  the  Seneca  sachem  ascertained  the  flight  of  his 
spouse,  his  determination  was  taken  instantly.  Vengeance  is  the 
first  impulse  of  natural  man,  which  law  and  religion  partially 
restrain:  and  the  worse  the  cause  generally  the  stronger  the 
thirst  for  vengeance.  The  Seneca  knew  that  he  had  fairly  lost 
his  wife  at  the  gaming  table ;  that  he  refused  either  to  pay  the 
debt  of  honour  to  the  Wyandot  who  won  her,  or  fight  him  for  the 
refusal.  Conscious  of  wrong  he  was  the  more  resentful.  He 
found  no  difliculty  in  rousing  the  Seneca  settlements  to  war,  for 
an  act  of  impressment  which  no  nation  should  suflfer;  the  intoler- 
able indignity  of  forcibly  taking  a  woman  away,  and  compelling 
her  to  serve  strangers.  The  Senecaslo  a  man  rallied  for  the  last 
resort  of  kings  and  injured  people.    The  season  was  propitious ; 

14* 


'  .  '    . 


'■  f    '    s 


■■■■'.'':>■' 


■-}■■■. 


162 


INDIAN    WARFARE. 


[1613. 


¥  * 


110  fishing  or  planting  to  do,  plenty  of  jerked  meat  in  store.  The 
warriors  were  tired  of  several  moons  dosing  about  wigwams,  or 
exciting  each  other  to  exploits  by  recitals  of  achievements.  They 
were  mianimous,  said  VValk-in-the-water,  a  little  sarcastically: 
there  was  no  peace  party,  no  opposition.  No  act  of  congress  or 
declaration  of  war  was  necessary,  no  proclamation  or  manifesto ; 
not  a  word  and  a  blow-  but  a  whoop  and  a  massacre.  Yet  every 
rhing  was  done  in  order  according  to  invariable  formalities.  In 
preliminaries  of  hostilities,  European  statesmen  do  but  follow 
the  methods  of  American  savages.  As  soon  as  war  was  resolved 
upon  in  council,  the  war  feast,  or  cabinet  dinner  followed  as  a 
matter  of  course ;  at  which  the  old  were  grave  and  dignified, 
the  young  gay  and  boastful.  Then  came  the  ball,  or  war  dance. 
In  every  conceivable  finery  and  foppery  of  dress,  paint,  feathers, 
beads,  bracelets,  and  with  highly  ornamented  weapons,  the  Sene- 
cas  danced  to  music  both  vocal  and  instrumental — brandishing 
their  arms,  and  howling  with  ecstacy.  They  jumped,  squatted, 
threw  their  limbs  into  contortions,  stamped,  skipped,  attitudi- 
nized in  naked  postures,  far  beyond  the  factitious  graces  of  arti- 
ficial saltation  or  the  measured  steps  of  its  voluptuous  movements. 
Wellington  challenged  from  the  Duchess  of  Richmond's  ball  at 
Brussels  by  the  French  artillery,  to  the  sabbath  breaking  field  of 
Waterloo,  went  forth  indeed  to  battle  and  to  triumph  from  a 
dance.  But  an  Indian  never  would  have  been  surprised  as  he 
was,  although  to  surprise  enemies  is  their  first  art  of  war.  The 
Seneca  ball  was  an  affair  of  state,  as  much  as  the  cabinet  dinner 
which  preceded  it,  both  deliberately  arranged  by  authority.  The 
cause  of  war,  too,  on  these  occasions  was  similar.  All  Europe 
joined  in  coalition  to  expel  one  man  from  France.  Such  was 
the  argument  of  their  protocols,  the  stipulation  of  their  treaties, 
the  rallying  cry  of  their  armies.  The  Senecas  went  to  wai 
against  the  Wyandots  for  a  woman.  Where  is  the  difference? 
Whether  a  troublesome  man,  as  he  was  denounced,  or  an  un- 
chaste woman  be  the  cause,  how  stand  the  moral  and  the  con- 
science, the  wisdom  and  the  record  of  these  two  wars,  two  centu- 
ries and  two  continents  apart  ?  How  will  history  compare  them  ? 
How  will  justice  decide  ?  As  will  be  seen  the  Senecas  never 
got  the  woman  they  waged  war  for,  but  their  enemies  triumphed. 
The  allied  great  powers  of  Europe  captured  their  man.    They 


"^''*'r    ;,it 


CHAP,  v.] 


INDIAN    WARFARE. 


163 


took  him  to  far  distant  imprisonment,  chained  him  to  a  burning 
rock  in  the  ocean,  and  tortured  him  to  death. 

Next  morning,  after  the  war  dance,  the  Senecas  crossed  the  St. 
Lawrence  on  the  ice,  two  hours  before  day  surprised  the  Wyandot 
settlement  asleep,  and  put  numbers  to  cruel  death.  Children  were 
spitted  with  darts  and  thrown  in  the  fire.  Women  were  roasted. 
Men  were  scalped,  mutilated,  emboweled,  and  otherwise  tor- 
mented till  they  died.  Slaughter  was  indiscriminate,  and  would 
have  been  exterminating  but  for  the  Indian  fondness  for  pleasure. 
Victory  is  always  their  prelude  to  festivity,  as  with  Europeans. 
No  te  deum  indeed  is  sung,  or  other  church  ceremony  performed. 
But  a  debauch  is  invariable.  Suspending  slaughter  for  this  enjoy- 
ment, the  Senecas  rested  awhile  from  that  of  massacre.  The  sur- 
viving Wyandots  effected  their  escape  with  some  hours  start  of 
their  victors,  who  pursued  them  all  the  way  to  the  strait  of  St. 
Clair,  where  they  knew  the  fugitive  lovers  crossed.  Meantime 
a  thaw  had  taken  place.  As  they  passed  Niagara,  the  ice  was 
piled  mountain  high  above  the  falls  in  tremendous  overflow,  a 
flood  filled  the  channel  like  a  deluge  rushing  over  the  precipice 
with  fearful  fury.  The  spray,  foa:n,  and  roar  of  the  cataract,  the 
rushing  rapids,  the  immense  volume  of  water,  and  crash  of  float- 
ing timber— the  whole  scene  might  have  arrested  attention,  and 
excited  apprehension.  There  was  then  no  horse-shoe  or  circular 
waterfall,  but  a  straight  plunge  of  the  whole  Niagara,  from  shore 
to  shore.  The  Senecas  hurried  along  almost  without  looking  at 
it.  When  they  got  to  where  Sandwich  now  is,  for  the  first  time 
they  came  in  sight  of  the  flying  Wyandots,  whom  the  Senecas  felt 
sure  of  taking  and  destroying,  men,  women  and  children.  They 
shouted  with  savage  delight  and  exultation.  The  Wyandots  were 
dismayed.  The  ice  had  broke  and  was  afloat  on  the  strait, 
a  rapid  current,  then  violent,  impetuous  and  irregular,  swollen 
far  above  the  common  level,  not  boatable  or  bridged.  No  one 
could  pass  till  the  ice  either  sunk  or  fastened  again,  as  it  some- 
times would ;  it  was  impracticable  to  get  across.  The  jaded 
Wyandots  had  stopped  on  the  blufl*,  dreading  they  might  be  over- 
taken there,  for  they  had  ascertained  that  they  were  pursued. — 
It  was  night ;  an  inconstant  moon  shone  sometimes  bright,  then 
eclipsed  by  dark  clouds.  The  snow  was  turned  to  sleet  and  mud, 
an  element  which  they  found  as  unmanageable  as  Napoleon  did 
on  his  Polish  campaign.    The  tawny  females,  almost  every  one 


:'}v' 

.,-.'■   ;'*'''■ 

■-*•, 

164 


INDIAN    WARFARE. 


[161J. 


at'  ■-  •■;  ■ 

W)\- 

with  a  child  strapped  at  her  back,  looked  haggard  and  pallid. — 
The  children  cried  for  hunger  and  restlessness.  The  men  were 
despondent.  It  was  about  the  last  of  February,  as  white  men 
denominate  that  fitful  month, 

80  full  of  frost,  and  storms,  and  cloudiness. 

The  Frenci),  abolishing  religion  and  revolutionizing  all  things, 
flattered  themselves  that  they  were  original  in  changing  the 
Gregorian  lunar  names,  when  they  only  imitated  the  long  esta- 
blished Indian  calendar,  by  which  the  weather  names  months. 
In  this  predicament  of  February  the  Senecas  overtook  the  Wyan- 
dots,  paralyzed  with  panic  at  the  sight  of  their  dreadful  pursuers, 
quadruple  in  numbers,  centuple  in  spirit,  unincumbered,  thirsting 
for  blood,  whooping  with  anticipated  surfeit  of  it.  The  VVyatidot 
seducer,  apprised  by  a  runner  that  his  whole  country  "was 
expelled  and  flying  towards  him,  had  joined  them  before  they 
reached  the  strait.  Some  words  of  surrendering  the  Seneca's 
wife  had  murmured  through  the  dejected  multitude ;  but  that 
would  have  been  an  ignominious  capitulation  to  which  crime 
seldom  submits.  She  was  safe  among  the  Potawattomies.  As 
the  Senecas  advanced,  they  drew  their  bows  to  the  arrow- 
head, and  let  fly  a  volley  at  the  dismayed  and  confounded 
Wyandots,  making  no  resistance.  Surrender  would  be  useless, 
because  death  was  inevitable  either  way,  and  it  was  no  worse  to 
be  slaughtered  without  than  with  that  concession.  Indeed,  if 
prisoners,  they  would  be  tortured  as  well  as  killed;  perhaps 
hanged,  which,  to  Indians,  is  the  worst  form  of  death  ;  worse 
than  to  be  tied  to  a  tree,  stuck  full  of  burning  splinters,  eyes 
nose,  and  ears  torn  out,  bowels  ripped  open.  Stupefied  by 
despair,  unresisting,  they  were  about  to  be  sacrificed,  when  con- 
sternation revealed  to  the  Wyandot  lover  a  mode  of  salvation, 
an  expedient  for  passing  the  angry  strait,  nearly  a  mile  wide,  of 
cold  angry  waters.  Seizing  a  squaw,  with  her  child  in  his  arms, 
he  leaped  from  the  cliff  down  upon  a  cake  of  ice  floating  by,  call- 
ing to  the  rest,  "  follow  me  and  save  yourselves."  The  dejected 
crowd  of  terrified  fugitives  were  in  no  mood  to  disobey  any 
command  or  contrivance  for  escape.  They  followed  as  sheep  do 
9.  leading  leap,  and  were  instantly  huddled  together  on  various 
driving  islands  of  ice  crackling  along.  The  Senecas  reached  the 
bluff,  but  disconcerted  by  this  unlooked  for  evasion.  They  must 


CHAP.  V.l 


INDIAN     WARFARE. 


166 


embark  on  the  same  frail  reliance  or  lose  the  prey  when  almost 
clutched.  The  current  drove  the  fugitives  from  the  shore,  sepa- 
rated in  squads  on  disjointed  cakes  of  ice,  witli  sometimes  large 
gaps  of  water  between.  There  was  a  struggle  between  tlie  eflort 
of  despair  and  the  love  of  destruction—the  former  triumphed. 
The  disconcerted  Scnecas  paused  on  the  bluff,  thought  of  the 
risk,  let  fly  a  discharge  of  random  arrows  at  the  chase,  hesitated 
a  precious  moment — and  lost  their  prize.  The  crisis  was  over,  the 
prey  gone.  The  Wyandots,  with  gulfs  of  water  between  them 
and  the  shore,  even  hurled  back  a  shout  of  success  and  almost 
defiance.  Captain  Barclay,  wounded,  vanq  ished,  mortified, 
but  not  dismayed,  when  a  prize-master  entered  the  cabin  of 
his  ship,  after  her  flag  was  struck,  sturdily,  sternly,  rudely,  and 
haughtily,  like  a  bold  Briton,  rather  in  disdain  lan  sub. mission, 
said,  "  when  I  left  the  deck  I  would  not  have  given  sixpence  for 
your  chance."  So  the  Senecas  did  not  reckon  the  IVyandofs' 
chance  worth  sixpence,  when  the  fortune  of  war  turned  it  all 
at  once  into  priceless  success.  Standing  on  the  bluff,  t;t  y  saw 
their  prize  escape,  by  perilous  and  marvellous  tran.portution 
on  floating  portions  of  ice,  and  safely  landed  on  the  opposite 
shore,  just  as  the  moon  broke  forth  from  a  cloud,  and  lit  up  the 
gloom  of  midnight.  The  Senecas  could  only  turn  to  go  home 
through  the  melting  snows,  and  for  several  moons  of  respite  from 
action,  enjoy  the  recreation  of  slumber,  telling  their  exploits,  and 
brooding  more.  Trophies  in  large  quantities,  some  booty,  scalps 
hardly  to  be  counted  by  their  arithmetic,  the  comfort  of  consi- 
derable increase  of  landed  possessions  on  the  northern  side  of 
the  river  and  lake,  where  the  Wyandots  dwelt,  and  meditation 
of  further  conquests,  filled  the  Senecas'  tl  "."rhts  with  as  much 
as  their  minds  required.  For  the  wai  .as  only  begun ;  its 
direst  calamity  was  to  come.  War  begets  war.  Hostilities 
were  not  to  be  confined  to  the  land.  The  waters  were  to  have 
their  share.  All  the  inhabitants  of  regions  so  navigable  as  the 
lake  country  must  be  maritimo  people,  whether  red  or  white, 
savage  or  civilized.  The  Hurons,  Potawattomies,  Wyandots 
and  other  red  nations  of  the  lakes  were  naval  powers,  with 
fleets  and  sailors,  well  broke  to  battle  and  the  breeze.  The 
western  flanks  of  the  United  States  are  already  almost  as  nau- 
tical as  the  Atlantic  shores.    Fisheries,  commerce  in  all  its  occa- 


166 


INDIAN    WARFARE. 


[1612. 


■•-> 


'If- ' 


sions,  great  opportunity  of  ports,  every  thing  to  develop  nautical 
genius,  exist  tliere,  always  has,  and  always  must. 

The  Senecas  were  excellent  watermen,  and  handled  craft 
with  great  dexterity.  They  planned  a  naval  expedition  for  the 
summer,  from  the  eastern  end  of  Lake  Erie  into  Lake  St.  Clair, 
and  to  Lakes  Huron,  Michigan,  or  Superior,  if  necessary,  to 
compel  surrender  of  the  Wyandot  woman.  Violation  of  any 
vow  among  people  who  make  so  few,  is  a  greater  offence  than 
with  refined  nations,  who  make,  write,  print,  publish,  and  record 
so  many.  Breach  of  the  marriage  vow  is  one  of  the  greatest 
misdeeds  of  an  Indian.  The  wife  is  a  handmaid,  a  serving- 
woman  :  to  deprive  her  lord  of  the  society  and  service  of  such 
a  helpmate  is  not  only  an  insult,  but  unlawful  injury,  as  by 
English  common  law.  The  cause  of  offence,  woman,  has  at  all 
times  been  the  most  exciting,  enduring,  and  implacable  of  all 
causes.  Long  before  Helen  brought  on  that  ten  years'  siege 
which  produced  a  poem  unequaled  since,  ante  Ilelenam  fuit 
teterrima  causa  belli;  before  Helen's  day  it  was  the  direct 
cause  of  war.  The  Wyandots  were  not  unapprized  of  the  Se- 
necas' intention  to  attack  them  by  water.  They  had  envoys 
extraordinary,  spies  among  the  Senecas,  with  secret  instructions 
to  discover  and  report  what  could  be  learned.  Forewarned, 
they  resolved  to  be  forearmed,  and  their  hosts  entered  heartily 
into  a  league,  offensive  and  defensive,  with  them.  The  Pota- 
wattomies,  Ottoways,  Chippeways,  several  of  the  peninsular 
nations,  gave  lands  to,  and  shared  subsistence  with  the  Wyandot 
emigrants,  making  their  cause  their  own.  As  hostilities  during 
summer  were  to  be  translated  from  land  to  water,  preparations 
were  made  accordingly,  by  refitting  old  boats,  and  building  new. 
The  Indians  of  the  lakes  were  expert  naval  architects ;  experi- 
enced in  the  construction  of  canoes  of  the  build  of  the  Roman 
galley,  which  still  affords  the  finest  models  for  vessels,  whether 
for  sail  or  steam,  never  surpassed,  while  continually  tried  to  be 
by  imaginary  improvements  in  Dutch,  French,  English,  and 
American  naval  architecture.  Not  only  wood  but  stone,  the 
hardest  stone,  the  thickest  plank,  have  been  worked  without 
iion  in  as  great  perfection  as  by  modern  masons,  smiths,  and 
carpenters,  with  that  metal.  Copper  was  the  tool  of  some  of 
the  most  accomplished  ancient  stone-cutters,  artists,  and  archi- 
tects.   Indians,  too,  have  had  their  secrets  of  handicraft. 


%.. 


CHAP,  v.] 


INDIAN    WARFARE. 


167 


The  Wyandot  fleet  was  built  on  the  upper  lakes,  Huron,  Mi- 
cliigan,  as  far  off  as  Superior,  as  rapidly  and  scientifically,  as  the 
American  or  English  fleets  on  Erie  and  Ontario.  The  Wyandot 
Indian  material  was  the  bark  of  the  birch  tree,  which  sheds  its 
rind  every  year,  remarkably  light,  tough,  hard,  and  water-tight; 
hardly  inferior  to  iron  or  gum  Arabic  for  ship-building.  Tho- 
roughly made  of  birch-bark,  the  Wyandot  skiffs  were  patterns 
of  workmanship,  though  we  scarcely  know  by  what  tools  so 
rapidly  perfected  by  workmen  without  iron.  Light,  strong, 
buoyant,  beautiful,  they  might  be  carried  on  the  shoulders  of 
men  and  floated  in  water  with  equal  facility.  The  tawny  tars  of 
the  lakes  were  amphibious  animals,  who  walked,  paddled,  swam, 
with  wonderful  powers  of  performance. 

The  rendezvous  for  the  Wyandot  fleet  was  between  Lakes 
Huron  and  St.  Clair,  where  Maiden  is  since  built :  and  the  time 
early  in  September,  Sincerity  and  punctuality  are  ordinary 
savage  virtues,  as  much  as  duplicity  and  procrastination  when 
politic  or  expedient.  Punctual  to  the  appointed  time  and  place 
the  fleet  came  in,  two  hundred  canoes  strong,  each  manned  by 
four  men  to  paddle,  with  four  more  to  fight,  all  under  the  com- 
mand of  a  warrior  captain,  invariably  promoted  for  meritorious 
service,  never  by  favour,  intrigue  or  purchase.  Rank  among 
Indians  is  a  hierarchy  infallible  through  every  grade,  which 
family  influence  or  personal  solicitation  cannot  change,  but  desert 
alone  arranges  and  maintains.  Walk-in-the- water  declared,  em- 
phatically, that  the  traditional  recollection  or  history  of  the  fleet 
remains  strong  and  clear  among  all  the  Indians  of  that  peninsula ; 
for  its  armament  and  achievement  caused  great  sensation  at  the 
time,  formed  in  fact  an  era  in  Indian  annals,  which,  being  neither 
crowded  with  events  nor  confused  by  written  narratives,  are  like 
the  instincts  of  animals,  few  but  indelible — sentiments  or  sensa- 
tions far  more  distinct  and  durable  than  common  printed  histori- 
cal transmission  of  transactions.  The  buffalo  will  find  a  saltlick 
with  infinitely  quicker  and  truer  tact  than  a  man  of  science  in 
search  of  it.  All  beasts  and  birds  in  their  migrations  and  their  con- 
duct display  knowledge  of  seasons,  places,  and  may  it  not  be  said  of 
astronomical  indications,  exceeding  the  best  attainments  of  learn- 
ing. The  Indians  insist  that  Ferry's  battle  was  neither  the  first 
nor  greatest  on  Lake  Erie,  but  that  the  honour  of  a  much  greater 


,!T' 


168 


INDIAN    WARFARE. 


[1612. 


■H'.  .  • 


X,  t 


belongs  to  them,  preserved  by  tradition  much  truer  than  our 
typographical  tales. 

It  was  an  imposing  spectacle,  their  fleet,  as  it  rode  at  anchor 
or  moored  near  Maiden ;  a  scene  of  nautical  bustle  and  discipline, 
which  warmed  all  hearts  with  ardour,  if  not  admiration,  as  the 
birch  canoes  bravely  rocked  upon  the  waves,  with  their  flags  of 
feathers,  combined  by  handicrafts  of  which  the  art,  like  many 
others  of  old,  no  longer  exists,  rabbit-skins,  beaver-tails,  fox-tails, 
with  various  other  embellishments  of  a  diversified  peltry,  deco- 
rating the  canoes  according  to  the  taste  of  each  crew  or  com- 
mander. Young  squaws  sighed  for  such  husbands  as  manned 
the  fleet,  their  heads  profusely  ornamented  with  feathers,  their 
ears  and  noses  with  pendants,  their  arms  with  bracelets,  their 
brawny  bodies  covered  with  hieroglyphic  figures,  otherwise 
slightly  covered— some  stark  naked.  The  cabinet  dinner  and 
fashionable  ball,  and  other  established  ceremonies  were  none 
omitted :  on  the  contrary,  attended  with  uncommon  pomp  and 
celebrated  with  universal  favour.  The  war  feast  was  held 
aboard  the  fleet.  As  women  never  are  present  on  these  occa- 
sions, but  do  the  family  duties  of  the  kitchen,  cook  and  bring  the 
viands,  and  otherwise  wait  on  their  husbands  and  fathers,  only 
men  partook  of  this  festival,  which  was  conducted  with  strict 
regard  to  conventional  and  luxurious  conviviality.  Neither  lying 
down  at  table  like  the  ancients,  or  sitting  up  as  the  moderns  do, 
the  Indian  convenience  for  that  purpose  is  his  breech-cloth  as  he 
squats  to  take  food.  Into  their  laps,  squatting  in  the  canoes,  the 
squaws  served  squirrel  soup  in  gourds,  as  the  first  course  of  the 
entertainment :  then  came  white  fish  and  other  delicious  fishes 
of  the  lakes.  Venison,  bears'-meat,  and  tortoise-meat,  formed 
the  next  course.  To  that  succeeded  game  in  exquisite  variety, 
such  as  no  monarch  can  spread  his  table  with  ;  wild  ducks  of  all 
sorts,  swans,  wild  turkies,  pheasants,  partridges,  grouse  and  other 
fowl  of  the  lal  es,  where  they  abounded  in  great  quantity  and  per- 
fection. The  liquors  were  of  acknowledged  excellence ;  wine 
from  persimmons,  the  black  haw,  elderberry,  blackberry,  dew- 
berry, strawberry,  whortleberry :  the  latter  said  to  be  Washing- 
ton's favourite  fruit ;  with  all  other  berries  in  season.  Walnuts, 
hickory-nuts,  shellbarks,  filberts,  hazelnuts,  pumpkin  pies,  dressed 
with  maple  sugar,  so  as  to  make  a  delicious  dish,  composed  the 
dessert.    The  feast  elicited  repartee,  merriment,  and  great  ani- 


fh-:' 


CHAP,  v.] 


INDIAN    WARFARE. 


169 


mation.  The  war-daiice  or  ball  succeeded  the  war  feast  or 
cabinet  dinner.  The  Wyaiidots  were  superior  dancers;  an  ex- 
ercise which  in  Indian  performance  consists  in  the  utmost  mus- 
cular exertion,  accompanied  by  contortions  almost  convulsive, 
and  regulated  by  a  sort  of  plaintive  vocal  music.  The  modern 
Greeks  dance  in  much  the  same  way.  Whoever  has  been  at 
Athens  since  liberated  Greece  has  been  crowned  by  the  holy 
alliance  with  a  German  king,  may  have  seen,  if  ever  present  at 
an  Indian  war  dance,  the  striking  similarity  in  the  dances  of  these 
two  remote  people,  seeming  to  prove  that  natural  dancing  is 
unlike  the  artificial  agility  of  that  recreation,  which  so  long  ago 
as  the  last  days  of  Roman  republicanism,  Sallust  says,  had  be- 
come a  meretricious  amusement,  and  the  vanity  of  courtezans, 
when  Sempronia  danced  more  elegantly  than  became  a  lady  — 
saltare  e/eganlius  qnani  iiecesse  est  probx,  at  one  of  (/ataline's 
balls.  The  VVyandots,  Potav/attomies  and  Huroris  were  given  to 
no  such  abuse  of  it.  Their  dancing,  though  excessively  violent 
and  forcible,  was  not  indelicate,  like  modern  opera  dancing  ;  but 
seemed  to  have  some  of  thai  solemnity,  which  not  many  years 
since  characterized  one  of  the  most  admired  French  dances,  the 
minuet.  In  another  strikin.^  particular  Indian  dancing — for  they 
are  exemplarily  steady  in  their  habits,  free  from  capricious 
change— differs  from  the  art,  both  ancient  and  modern.  Indian 
women  uever  dance,  only  permitted  to  look  on,  not  to  join  the 
men.  In  France,  chamber-men  instead  of  chamber-maids  make 
beds,  and  do  other  bed  chamber  work,  shopmen  in  place  of 
women  tend  shops;  whiK;  many  menial  offices  of  manhood  in 
fields,  mines  and  other  pursuits  of  labour,  are  allotted  to  women. 
In  some  of  these  respects  savage  and  civilized  manners  coincide, 
though  in  others  entirely  different.  Dancing  seems  to  be  an  art 
in  which  the  Athenians  and  Indians  agree,  the  prevailing  prac- 
tice in  most  other  countries  differing  essentially  from  both. 

Mean  time  the  Senecas  had  not  been  idle.  They,  too,  refitted 
old  canoes,  built  new,  practised  the  paddles  and  warriors  in  naval 
evolutions,  and  by  midsummer  had  a  stronger  squadron  than  the 
coalition  of  the  upper  lakes,  manned,  equipped,  and  prepared  for 
service.  But  the  Senecas  laboured  under  one  fatal  disadvantage. 
Their  canoes  were  all  built  of  live  oak  cut  out  of  solid  trees ;  and 
ship  timber  was  the  standard  in  that  war,  as  ship  building,  modi- 
fication of  the  same  thing,  was  two  hundred  years  after  in  that 
VOL,  I. — 15 


S 


■'^■M- 


mi 


■•■*■■,:.    !' 


j.V 


f.-« 


•?::i!i-'^- 


IM'-f?--'",   ■ 

Ic  ^•;  ■  .V  ■    ;; 

■■^  .:':  L.     \ 
'■■''■'*■    -  -■  ^ 

I-,'    V...   -^'H^ 

i  ;•■•■■■  '■ 


mi- 
li- 


no 


INDIAN    WARFARE. 


[1612. 


of  1812.  The  birch  canoe  wao  greatly  the  better  craft  for  sailing, 
steering,  and  management  altogether,  whatever  may  now  lie 
thought  of  live  oalc.  The  Senccas  were  not  ready  quite  as  so  .i 
as  the  allies  from  St.  Clair  and  Huron,  who  weighed  their  stoi:'? 
anchors,  coiled  the  I;  de  cables,  or  unmoored  from  their  fasten- 
ings soon  after  the  preliminaries  before  mentioned,  and  gallantly 
standing  by  Put-i'^  B  ,  where  the  English  and  Americans  lie 
buried  together,  c.  isted  along  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Erie 
till  they  came  to  off  North  Point,  nearly  opposite  to  the  present 
town  of  Erie,  where  it  was  their  admiral's  opinion  that  they 
should  stop,  without  doubling  the  Point,  till  they  could  send  for- 
ward some  light  skifl's  and  reconnoitre.  The  Wyandot  lover, 
always  forward  and  active  in  every  enterprize,  volunteered  to  go 
in  the  first  canoe.  By  singular  coincidence  of  savage  vigilance, 
tlie  Senecas  sent  out  a  similar  scout  for  like  purpose  about  the 
same  time.  The  two  parties  coming  in  distant  view  of  each 
other,  instantly  put  about  and  made  the  best  of  their  way 
l)ack  to  inform  their  respective  lieets.  The  Wyandot  lover  alone 
remained.  Before  the  Seneca  squadron  was  out  of  sight  he 
sprang  into  the  water,  and  swam  to  the  south  shore,  telling  the 
captain  of  the  canoe  that  he  would  return  by  land.  The  sur- 
rounding forests  were  then  in  all  their  aboriginal  majesty  and 
verdure.  Mighty  oaks,  which  stood  on  the  margin  of  that  lake 
long  before  Columbus  or  Vespucius,  Cabot  or  Raleigh,  crossed 
the  Atlantic,  with  huge  trunks  sixty  feet  high  before  branching, 
liickories,  chestnut,  beech,  tulip  poplars  and  other  magnificent 
growth  of  American  forests,  shaded  the  banks  of  the  lake,  and 
were  reflected  in  its  limpid  waters.  The  Wyandot  climbed  the 
tallest  of  these  towering  trees,  and  from  its  top  looked  anxiously 
for  the  Seneca  canoes,  which  he  knew  would  be  close  in  shore  not 
far  from  the  place  of  his  reconnoissance  near  Buffalo.  He  had  be- 
fore told  the  chieftains,  with  whom  he  was  allied,  that  not  far  from 
the  great  waterfall  the  Senecas  would  rendezvous.  The  few 
canoes  he  had  seen  at  a  distance  were  so  disguised,  and  so  soon 
out  of  vio'.v  that  he  was  not  certain  of  their  build,  and  besides 
he  wanted  to  learn  the  size  of  the  wh  vie  Seneca  fleet.  He  rocked 
with  joy  on  the  high  branch  he  stood  upon  when  he  could 
plainly  see  that  they  were  log  built,  clumsy  craft,  quite  inferior 
to  the  birch  skiffs  of  the  Wyandots.  With  better  prognostic  than 
Napoleon  saluted  the  English  outposts  before  Ins  rout  at  Water- 


CHAP,  v.] 


INDIAN    WARFARE. 


171 


loo,  smiling  to  his  staff,  and  saying,  aha ! — the  English,  I  have  got 
them  at  last — with  as  much  confidence  of  success  and  better 
prognostic,  the  Wyandot  instantly  built  castles  of  triumph  in  the 
air.  The  Seneca  crews  were  at  quarters  practising  a  naval  siiam- 
fight,  with  bows  and  arrows,  hatchets,  battle-axes,  and  boarding 
pikes,  all  made  of  tough  wood  and  sharp  stone.  Sweltering  and 
grappling  in  a  broiling  sun  tliey  scufllpd  in  counterfeit  contest. 
The  Wyandot  was  so  intent  on  examining  the  manaiivres, 
situation,  force  and  equipments  of  the  Seneca  lleet,  that  lie  had 
not  perceived,  till  assailed  by  a  black  eagle,  that  he  was  perched 
close  by  a  young  brood  of  that  bird  in  a  nest  on  another  limb  of 
his  tree.  Having  ascertained  all  he  wished  to  know,  and  not 
caring  either  to  fight  the  eagle  or  excite  the  noise  it  was  begin- 
ning to  make,  which  might  call  attention  to  his  hiding  place,  he  de- 
scended, passed  round  the  south  side  of  the  lake  and  Seneca  fleet, 
at  a  sulficient  distance  to  be  out  of  danger,  swam  the  Niagara  river 
below  the  falls,  and  by  rapid  running,  swimming  Grand  river 
and  other  smaller  streams,  he  reached  the  combined  fleet  ^ying 
near  North  Point  sometime  before  day,  and  imparted  the  cheering 
intelligence  that  the  Senecas  were  in  log  canoes.  It  acted  o;i  the 
Wyandot  cliicfs  like  Major  Wood's  report  to  General  Harrison 
before  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  that  the  English  infavitry  were 
drawn  up  in  open  order.  The  order  for  action  was  given  forthwith. 
By  break  of  day  the  Wyandot  fleet  was  under  weigh,  and  soon 
after  hove  in  sight  of  the  Seneca  fleet,  anchored  at  liufl'alo.  The 
Wyp'ulots  then  put  in  practice  a  preconcerted  stratagem.  Indian 
battles  abound  with  stratagems,  by  which  they  seek  to  superadd 
some  advantage  to  the  eff'orts  of  courage.  The  signal  for  retreat 
was  given  from  the  Wyandot  admiral's  skiff,  and  repeated  on 
ccnch  shells  from  every  division  of  the  fleet;  which  put  about 
hastily  with  seeming  trepidation,  paddling  ofl"  to  the  middle  of 
the  lake,  not  very  wide  there.  Immediately  the  Senecas  cut 
their  fastenings  and  gave  chase  virith  loud  whoops  of  triumph. 
The  Wyandots  slackened  paddling  till  their  eager  enemies  over- 
took them  :  then  veered  about  and  with  uproar  began  the  com- 
bat, fought  for  several  hours  of  close  contest,  boat  to  boat  and 
hand  to  hand,  running  down,  boarding,  tomahawking,  slaughter- 
ing each  other  in  the  noonday  heat  of  a  vertical  sun,  within 
sound  of  tlie  roar  of  the  Falls  of  Niagara.  The  action  was  closer 
than  yard  arm  to  yard  arm  :  it  was  hand  to  hand.  As  all  history. 


h*. 


172 


INDIAN    BATTLE. 


[1612. 


'4\  ^:[ . 


J  ••V  •    ;' 

[m,../'"i-^,,.' 
*»■■  v"  '■•*    ■ 


■V  -i  ■■  ■ 


•*'.  :.■:.  ;•■ 


i^l'^.| 


V 

tC  '  ''    ' 


sacred  and  profane,  attests,  the  destruction  of  combatants  is  much 
greater  with  weapons  which  bring  them  in  corporeal  colli'^ion 
than  by  fire  arms,  eitlif  r  'nusket,  rifle,  or  cannon  at  a  di'^.tance.  JSo 
charge  of  cavahy  or  l;;yonets  is  so  fatal  and  ovei whel'ifing  as 
the  homicidal  eflects  oT  instruments  wliich  inflict  (Joath  ovdy  to 
body:  no  batt.:./  of  crape  or  cani'^^ter  so  murd<.:i)V's.  This 
memorable  naval  engay^ement  ptoved  it:  for  after  a  long  atid 
terrible  strusa;le,  in  which  the  skiff  canoes  liad  the  coiistant  ad- 
vatitagc,  every  log  canoe  was  capture(',  and  every  Seneca  either 
killed  or  wounded,  and  made  prisoner,  save  one.  Going  through 
the  log  canoes,  al'ter  the  battle,  crimsoned  with  gon,  and  covered 
with  the  brains,  cutrails,  aiiu  dislocated  lin^bs  of  the  dead  or 
dying,  as  .some  of  the  captor  chiefs  were  din  rted  to  do,  one  covv  • 
ard  Sm -ca — the  only  coward  in  the  tv/o  fleets — was  discovered. 
The  dcctu  were  ilu'owu  overboard  ;  and  all  those  badly  wounded ; 
but  those  i!ot  severely  hurt  were  reserved  to  bo  tortured  and 
buniL'd.  Gini::^  flieso  rounds  one  Seneca  was  fouud  in  the  bottom 
of  a  rjanoe,  feigning  death,  that  he  might  be  thrown  overboard 
as  acorj'Se,  when  he  hoped  to  escape  by  swinuning.  Detected  in 
his  subterfuge,  he  was  taken  before  the  admiral,  who  had  his 
n  !se  and  ears  cut  ofl",  his  teeth  knocked  out  with  a  war-club,  and 
in  lliat  condition  put  ashore  to  go  home,  and  tell  tlu;  tale  of  their 
disaster  to  the  women,  children  and  old  men  of  the  Seneca  settle- 
ments. One  hundred  of  the  least  severely  wounded  Senecas 
were  taken  ashorr  together  with  all  their  canoes,  by  the  Wyan- 
dots,  for  the  ceremony  of  celebrating  their  victory  in  this  memo- 
rable naval  action,  the  first  and  most  desperate  ever  fought  on 
Lake  Erie.  One  of  Perry's  acts  of  justice  after  his  victory  was 
to  hang  an  American  deserter,  taken  in  the  British  fleet,  much  to 
Harrison's  distress,  who  did  not  like  severities.  Wyandot  mili- 
tary justice  was  as  much  more  signal,  as  the  size  of  the  hostile 
fleets,  number  of  combatants,  severity  of  conflict,  extent  of 
destruction,  and  all  other  circumstances  of  the  first  exceeded 
those  of  tlie  second  naval  engagement  on  that  lake.  Witii  con- 
sideral)le  labour  the  log  canoes  were  carried  to  the  upper  side  of 
the  Fails  of  Niagara  and  there  piled  up  in  a  large  heap  or 
funeral  pyre.  The  hundred  wounded  Senecas,  selected  for  the 
purpose,  were  tied  and  laid  upon  the  top ;  dry  bits  of  hard  wood, 
rubbed  together,  till  the  friction  produced  fire,  applied  to  the 
pyre.    The  weather  was  hot,  the  canoes  well-seasoned,  their 


CHAP,  v.] 


INDIAN    TRIUMPH. 


173 


wood  dry :  the  flame  soon  mounted  to  where  the  wounded  were 
hiid,  and  most  of  thorn  perished  in  a  great  blaze  of  glory,  which 
disturbed  numberless  rattlesnakes  reposing  in  the  bushes,  and 
myriads  of  musquitoes  swarming  in  the  air.  The  cataract  at 
that  time  was  broader,  fuller  and  more  direct  in  its  descent  than  it 
has  degenerated  to  become :  it  was  also  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or 
more  from  where  it  now  's ;  the  rapids  tumbled  with  greater 
velocity ;  the  descent  altogether  of  the  fall  exceeded  half  a  mile: 
the  volume  of  falling  waters  seven  hundred  thousand  gallons  a 
minute.  The  few  wounded,  who,  as  the  fire  burned  ofl"  their 
shackles, attempted  to  escape,  were  shot  down  by  arrows; pierced 
with  darts,  brained  with  clubs,  or  otherwise  put  to  death,  as  the 
delighted  Wyandots  danced  round  the  sacrifice.  After  all  the 
victims  were  consumed,  while  the  pyre  continued  to  fling  its 
blaze  upon  the  neighbouring  falls,  the  Wyandots  concluded  the 
celebration  by  a  dance,  such  as  before  described,  which  was 
followed  by  a  feast,  not  so  profbse  of  viands  or  carefully  prepared 
as  that  wh"'',h  preceded  the  departure  of  the  fleet  from  Mcdden  ; 
yet  taken  with  all  the  relish  of  martial  abandon. 

Fro'n  that  time  to  this,  unappeasable  alienation  prevails  be- 
tween the  descendants  of  the  Senecas,  who  are  the  six  nations  of 
New  York,  and  those  of  the  VV^yandots.  The  Senecas,  in  the  war 
of  1812,  united  with  the  Americans;  while  the  Wyandots  were 
among  the  steadiest  adherents  of  the  English.  Some  of  them, 
said  Walk-in-the-water,  before  tlieir  naval  victory  on  Lake  Erie, 
descended  the  Ohio  and  took  refuge  among  the  Creeks  in  the 
south.  Others  after  that  event,  went  north,  and  established  them- 
selves among  the  Canewaghas  of  Canada.  They  are,  as  it  was 
natural  for  Walk-in-thc-water  to  assert,  at  the  same  time  the 
most  civilized  and  the  most  warlike  of  all  the  Indian  nations. 
The  only  other  Indian  language  like  theirs  is  the  Mohawk. 
Roman  Catholic  Wyandots  pray  and  fight,  with  the  Bible  in  one 
hand,  and  tomahawk  in  the  other;  under  the  patronage  and  pro- 
tection of  Protestant  Great  liritain.  Such,  said  Walk-in-the- 
water,  closing  his  story,  is  their  toleration  and  our  civilization. 


15* 


■'M 


i>\ 


174 


HARRISON'S    CAMPAIGN.  [SEPT.,  1813, 


m- 


CHAPTEK    VI. 


fyf- 


.-* 


I: I  '• 


llARRfSrX'S  INVASION  OF  CANADA.— PROCTOR  DESTROYS  MALDEN  AND 
KKTREATS.— TECUMSEH'S  REMONSTRANCE.— PURSUIT OV  PROCTOR.- 
JOHNSON'S  MOINTED  REGIMENT.— HATTLE  OF  THE  THAMES.— .SUR- 
RENDER OE  KNGLISH.— PROCTOR'S  FLIGHT.— DEATH  OF  TECUMSEH. 
—INDIAN  SUBORNATION  HY  ENGLISH.— ENORMITY  OF  THAT  ALLI- 
ANCE.—ITS  DEMORALIZING  EFFECTS.— LAW  OF  NATIONS  THKREUPON. 
—HARRISON  GOES  TO  BUFFALO— THENCE  TO  WASHINGTON— AND 
OHL  .— HIS  RESIGNATION.— ILLUMINATION  FOR  HIS  AND  PERRY'S 
VICTORIES.— JOSEPH  HOPKINSON. 

Harrison's  capture  of  Proctor  was  so  depende  it  on  Perry's 
defieat  of  liarclay,  that  it  hardly  would  have  taken  place  without 
that  precursor.  He  had  been  busy  all  summer  in  preparations, 
to  which  the  popular  governors,  Isaac  Shelby,  of  Kentucky, 
and  Return  Jonathan  Meigs,  of  Ohio,  actively  contributed; 
and  by  the  middle  of  September,  had  collected  on  the  southern 
shore  of  Lake  Erie,  an  army  of  seven  thousand  men,  undismayed 
by  disasters,  eager  for  action.  Perry's  lleot  was  entirely  at  their 
service  for  supplies  and  transport ;  the  season  was  favourable  ;  the 
weather  delightful  as  American  autumn,  when  the  sun  westers 
down  genial  influences.  The  navy  and  army  were  in  high 
spirits.  Perry  volunteered  his  services  to  aUcnd  upon  Harrison 
by  land  and  by  water.  On  the  20th  of  September,  thf  army  was 
embarked  on  board  the  fleet ;  and  with  prosperous  gales  through 
various  stages  of  proceeding,  landed  near  Maiden,  the  27th  of 
that  month.  There  our  people  discovered  the  demoralizing,  and 
degrading  effects  on  British  soldiers,  of  relying  on  savage  auxili- 
aries. Major  General  Proctor,  who  had  obliged  Commodore 
Barclay  to  risk  the  battle  which  lost  the  lake,  was  disgracefully 
afraid  to  risk  one  himself.  The  appearance  of  Perry's  squadron 
off"  the  English  position,  even  before  the  engagement,  struck  ter- 
ror :  now  that  it  transported  an  army,  it  produced  the  most  un- 
manly consternation  in  Englishmen,  guilty  of  excesses  which 
they  felt  deserved  condign  punishment.  Proctor's  army  of  ban- 
ditti dreaded  the  vengeance  of  the  Kentuckians,  whose  pretended 


m 


''!^r,.^ 


CHAP.  VI.] 


HARRISON'S    CAMPAIGN. 


175 


savagisni  in  regimentals,  they  had  represented  to  be  as  gross  as 
that  of  their  alUes  in  blankets.  The  EngUsh  had  asserted  their 
right  to  set  Indians  on  Kentuckians.  They  were  now  to  be  re- 
quited. Retribution  came  with  the  first  reverse  of  such  morality. 
Procto"  was  completely  unmanned  with  fear;  his  troops  a  mere 
military  populace,  or  band  of  robbers  loaded  with  spoils.  All 
they  wanted  was  to  escape  with  life  and  booty  from  the  ven- 
geance and  retaliation  they  felt  conscious  of  having  provoked 

They  expected  to  be  stripped,  mutilated,  and  massacred  ;  to  be 
allowed  none  of  the  mitigations  of  civilized  war.  Accordingly, 
they  had  been  employed,  not  in  preparing  for  resistance,  for 
which  they  were  strong  enough  in  numbers,  fortifications,  provi- 
sions, and  all  other  requirements  ;  but  in  destroying  forts,  maga- 
zines, stores,  ammunition,  and  laying  waste  a  fertile  region  in  the 
season  of  abundance.  Manly  resistance,  and,  if  it  must  be,  honour- 
able capitulation,  were  not  thoughtof;  but  to  save  their  lives  and 
escape  with  their  booty.  The  scene  presented  to  Harrison,  was  at 
once  striking  and  edifying  to  a  commander,  who  had  been  only 
too  observant  of  the  method  of  hostilities,  which  his  unprincipled 
enemy  did  not  deserve.  Maiden  was  dismantled ;  the  navy  yard 
and  barracks  burned  ;  all  the  surrounding  country  stripped  of 
horses,  cattle,  and  whatever  else  could  be  carried  off".  Amidst  de- 
solation and  fright  the  haughty  Britons,  who  let  loose  the  savages 
to  murder  and  pillage  in  January,  took  to  flight  in  October ;  aban- 
doned or  destroyed  all  they  could  not  run  away  with  ;  realized 
all  that  Chatham  said  would  bo  the  ruinous  efi'ects  of  degrading 
an  army  of  soldiers  into  a  band  of  lui.rauders  and  assassins.  lu 
vain  did  the  undaunted  and  eloquent  savage  chief,  Tecumseh, 
remonstrate  against  such  precipitate,  unnecessary,  unwise,  un- 
military,  unmanly  and  ungenerous  flight  from  overrated  danger. 
While  that  noble  savage  remained  firm,  too  many  of  his  profli- 
gate red  companions  had  already  turned  their  backs  on  Proctor, 
whose  terrors  were  now  as  much  excited  by  the  well-known 
habits  of  the  Indians,  as  Hull's  had  been  when  they  were  his 
pretext,  or  reason  for  disgraceful  surrender.  Several  of  the 
Wyandots  and  other  Indians  deserted  Proctor  as  soon  as  they 
perceived  that  he  was  in  peril  or  feared  he  was.  They  changed 
allegiance  and  aflUliation  with  what  they  considered  the  change 
of  fortune.  Constancy  in  patriotism  or  even  party  loyalty  is  no 
more  the  virtue  of  common  savages  than  other  unprincipled  men. 


■.■\  : 


.f  t; 


u..dv  ■ 

M'  1*.-  '. 


r€ 


176 


PROCTOR'S    FLIGHT. 


[SEPT.,  1813. 


These  untutorod  instruments  of  English  profligacy  turned  from 
a  great  faliier  over  the  sea  to  another  at  Washington,  wiien  they 
appreliended  thai  the  armies  of  the  latter  were  the  strongest. — 
Winnebagoes,  Kiclcapoos,  Ilurons,  and  other  braves  of  EngUsh 
reliance,  deserted  with  the  first  reverse,  while  Tccumseh  and 
apparently  most  of  his  numerous  Ibllowcrs,  remained  faithful. — 
Proctor's  fears  were  strange  to  the  noble  barbarian,  who  fell  sword 
in  hand  when  the  English  general  ignominously  fled.  All  the 
martial  spirit  Proctor  had  left,  was  the  mere  energy  of  despair, 
and  that  undone  by  avarice.  The  spies  he  had  dispatched  to  the 
American  camp,  reported  fifteen  thousand  men,  when  there  were 
but  seven.  IJut  long  before  they  landed  in  Canada,  as  soon  as 
the  lake  was  lost,  as  early  as  the  17th  of  September,  when  Har- 
rison had  not  yet  embarked,  Proctor  proclaimed  martial  law,  in 
order  that  he  might  rob  with  impunity.  Every  one,  and  every 
place  within  his  reach,  was  despoiled  of  every  thing  his  disheart- 
ened myrmidons  could  lay  their  hands  on,  to  be  packed  up  and 
carried  off".  The  torch  was  applied  to  all  the  rest.  In  the  midst 
of  this  devastation,  which  terrified  his  army  and  their  Indian  de- 
pendents, and  before  the  latter  began  to  waver  in  their  attach- 
ment, at  a  season  of  great  plenty,  when  the  harvests  were  abun- 
dant, the  trees  loaded  with  fruit,  the  waters  swarmed  with  fish, 
the  woods  with  game  ;  when  fifteen  thourand  rations  were  issued 
every  day  by  the  English  commissariat  to  the  Indians ;  when 
Proctor  was  strong  in  every  thing  but  courage — in  this  scene  of 
alarm,  wanton  power,  and  pusillanimous  evasion,  Tccumseh, 
proudly  erect,  and  indomitable,  appealed  to  the  English  general 
to  stay  and  fight,  not  fly,  like  a  coward  and  thief.  "Father,"  said 
this  sylvan  hero  to  the  despc,  lent  Briton, "  listen  to  your  red 
children.  They  are  standing  all  around,  ready  to  fight  and  die 
for  you.  Do  not  forsake,  do  not  alarm  them.  In  the  old  war 
your  fathers  deserted  ours.  Will  you  do  it  again  ?  You  invited, 
encouraged,  supplied  us  with  arms,  to  war  on  the  Americans. — 
When  I  first  raised  my  tomahawk,  you  told  me  to  wait  awhile, 
to  keep  my  braves  ni  readiness  till  you  were  ready.  Then  you 
gave  us  rifles  to  recover  the  hunting  grounds  we  had  lost,  and 
promised  we  should  have  them  always.  Ever  since  you  desired 
it,  we  have  fought  by  your  side ;  and  when  did  we  turn  our 
backs  to  the  foe  ?  At  the  Rapids,  indeed,  we  did  not  strike  hard, 
for  we  could  not  get  at  ground-hogs  who  took  refuge  in  a  hole. 


fe-f'/i 


CIlAl'.  VI.] 


TKCUMSKH'S     k  K.MONSTR  A  NC  K. 


177 


But,  at  the  Raisin,  you  Icnow  wliat  wc  did.  Listen  to  us,  now, 
fatliur ;  you  are  instead  of  our  great  I'atlier  over  the  soa.  The 
ships  went  out  to  iiglu  on  the  lake — you  made  them  go  out. — 
Where  arc  they  ?  Wo  do  not  l^now  what  happened  ;  wc  heard 
the  great  guns.  They  sounded  loud  and  far,  and  since  wc  have 
seen  you  tying  up  bundles  to  carry  away;  you  told  us  always 
that  you  would  never  run  away  ;  that  the  English  never  do.  Will 
you  now  run  before  you  have  even  seen  the  enemy  ?  If  so,  let  us 
have  food  and  arms.  Do  not  take  every  thing  from  us.  We 
will  stay  and  fight.  We  are  not  afraid.  Wo  do  not  like  to  run,  at 
any  rate  till  we  have  fought  and  find  our  enemies  the  strongest. 
We  have  never  been  beat  on  land  ;  but  we  do  not  know  what  has 
happened  on  the  water.  JVly  brother,  the  proi)het,  is  among  the 
Creeks.  They  are  doing  what  you  directed  when  I  visited  tlicm. 
The  war  is  prosperous.  Our  liv<^s  are  in  the  keeping  of  the  Great 
Spirit.  You  have  plenty  of  arms  and  ammunition.  Leave 
them  with  us,  if  you  must  go.  We  are  resolved  to  fight,  and 
leave  our  bones  on  the  lands  that  belong  to  us,  if  so  the  Great 
Spirit  wills.  Wc  cannot  run  away  like  dogs  with  tails  down, 
till  now  proudly  curled  over  our  backs  in  defiance." 

Tecumseh's  speech  was  a?  inetl'ectual  to  stop  Proctor's  flight 
as  Chatham's  had  been  to  deter  the  employment  of  savage  aux- 
iliaries. So  panic-struck,  and  precipitate  was  the  English  retreat, 
loaded  with  plunder,  that  they  did  not  stop  even  to  destroy  the 
bridges  to  impede  pursuit ;  but  hurried  off  in  the  utmost  con- 
fusion— ignoble  Englislmien,  lorgetful 

Tliat  Chatham's  language  was  their  native  tongue, 
Ami  Wolfe's  great  name  compatriot  with  their  own. 

General  Harrison  almost  desponded  of  overtaking  the  fugi- 
tives. On  the  27th  September,  181 .3,  he  wrote  to  the  secretary 
of  war,  that  he  would  pursue  them  next  day,  but  that  there  was  no 
probability  of  overtaking  them.  But  the  Kentuckians  were 
resolved  on  the  revenge  of,  at  any  rate,  a  battle  with  thei-;  mur- 
derers at  Raisin.  Old  Governor  Shelby,  in  his  sixty-third  year, 
mounted  on  the  only  horse  to  be  found,  ardent  as  when  he 
scaled  the  steeps  of  King's  Mountain  thirty  years  before,  William 
Barry  and  Charles  Wicklifl'c,  both  subseqently  Postmasters-Gene- 
ral of  the  United  States,  John  Crittenden,  now  the  eloquent  and 
popular  senator  from  Kentucky,  with  many  more,  were  deter- 


i 


1  ■ ■    : 


1*1,  ' 


•'•-1. 


178 


PURSUIT    OK     F'llOCTOIl. 


[•■>:"?.,     1813. 


?|.'':- 


miiiotl  tlint  Proctor  should  not  oscapc.  Thny  were  not  to  be 
disappoiiitc'cl  hy  any  irresolution  or  deterred  l)y  luiy  olistacle. 
Harrison,  tlierefore,  with  Coniuiodore  Perry,  Geiuiral  Cass,  Ge- 
neral Green  Clay,  and  an  army  eaijier  for  action,  pushed  forward 
without  delay  or  hesitation,  by  forced  marches,  over  rivers, 
morasses,  through  broken  countries,  attended  by  some  boats 
and  water  craft;  continually  fuiding  Proctor's  store?,  provisions, 
ammunition,  and  arms,  cither  deserted  by  the  way,  or  so  weakly 
guarded,  by  small  detachments  of  tlio  enemy,  as  to  offer  no 
resistance.  Seldom  was  llight  more  mismanaged  than  that  of 
the  English.  Long  beibrc  overtaken,  tiiey  had  given  up.  The 
whole  way  from  Maldcni  to  tlie  Thames,  betrayed  their  extreme 
perturbation.  Even  the  dispatches  and  documents,  wiiich,  after- 
wards published  in  all  our  newspapers,  betrayed  their  coimec- 
tion  at  once  despicable  and  detestable,  with  the  Indians— even 
these  were  sull'erod  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  their  pursuers.  In- 
stead of  lighiing  where  they  were  well  entrenched,  fortified, 
and  provided,  they  were  forced  to  encounter  an  attack  under 
many  disadvantages  of  their  own  making,  and  no  raw  militia 
were  ever  cowed  more  disgracefully  than  these  British  regulars, 
from  the  moment  they  abandoned  Maiden,  to  their  throwing 
down  their  arms  and  begging  for  mercy  on  the  Tiiames.  At 
length,  on  the  morning  of  the  /jtli  October,  1S13,  near  an  Indian 
settlement  called  the  Moravian  towns,  on  the  river  Thames,  Har- 
rison came  up  with  the  English,  SOO  regular  troops  under  Major 
General  Proctor,  and  l'.iOO  Indians  headed  by  Tecumseh.  By 
this  time,  Colonel  Johnson's  regiment  of  1200  mounted  men, 
armed  with  guns,  without  either  pistols  or  sabres,  had  joined 
General  Harrison,  having,  by  forced  marches,  followed  from  the 
moment  they  got  his  orders  to  do  so.  The  particulars  of  their 
march  are  given  in  Mr.  McAfee's  volume,  who  commanded  one 
of  die  troops,  witli  great  fidelity  and  vivid  description.  The  regi- 
ment was  commanded  by  the  member  of  Congress,  Richard  M. 
Johnson,  who  will  take  no  umbrage  at  its  being  stated  that  liis 
brother  James,  the  lieutenant-colonel  of  that  fine  regiment,  was 
a  man,  not  of  more  courage,  for  that  could  hardly  be,  but  of 
more  talent  than  the  gallant  colonel  himself,  remarkable  for  the 
good  qualities  which  distinguish  a  numerous  family  of  western 
chivalry. 
Armstrong,  always  sarcastic  and  contemptuous  towards  Har- 


Kins 


CIIAI'.  VI. 


Slim.  II V 


179 


rison,  says,  in  his  Noliros  of  the  VVnr,  that  if  his  closiioiulcncy 
of  ovcilaUiiig  Proctor  hiul  coiitiimud  a  little  longer  than  it  did, 
it  would  have  verilicd  its  own  reaUty.  He  aekiiowlidges, 
ucvcrtiieiess,  that  his  dispositions  for  tlu;  attack  were  [iroiiiptly, 
coolly  and  gallantly  made,  against  Proctor,  skilfully  post(?(l,  hnt 
without  the  defences  which  a  calmer  mind  would  have  ])ro- 
vided  for  his  protection,  ("onspiciious,  keen  for  (;ond):it.  and 
heroic,  were  the  veteran  Shelhy  and  the  two  Johnsons.  John- 
son's regiment  was  at  Camp  Meigs  the  2r)i\i  Septemher,  when 
he  received  General  Harrison's  orders  to  follow  him  into  Canada, 
which  were  oheyed  forthwith,  taking  along  some  artillery.  On 
their  rapid  march,  they  discovered,  at  the  Kaisiu,  the  bones  of 
the  victims  of  the  massacre,  which  \\\vy  had  piously  collected 
and  committed  to  the  earth  in  June,  disinterred  as  they  had  been 
by  the  savages,  and  lying  scattered  about  tiie  fields,  by  the  time 
of  Johnson's  arrival  there,  entirely  deserted.  Another  express 
from  Harrison  reached  them  while  contemplating  that  abomina- 
ble scene  ;  inlhimed  l)y  which  they  hastened  in  pursuit  of  its  per- 
petrators, and  by  the  iid  of  October  they  were  with  General  Har- 
rison when  lie  moved  after  Proctor.  As  our  army  approached 
iiis,  in  the  fu'st  skirmishes  the  mountP'i  regiment  was  engaged, 
and  lost  a  lew  men  killed  and  wounded.  Governor  Shelby,  in 
17S0,  commanded  a  North  Carolina  regiment  at  the  battle  of 
King's  Mountain^  in  South  Carolina.  At  that  time  the  last  and 
worst  strife  of  the  Revolution  was  aggravated  by  civil,  almost 
servile,  war.  Major  Ferguson,  a  British  ollicer  of  inicommon 
enterprize  and  energy,  had  incorporated  a  number  of  resolute 
American  tories  with  his  regiment,  entrenched  on  the  top  of  a 
lofty  liill  called  King's  Mountain.  They  were  attacked  and 
totally  defeated  in  that  stronghold,  by  a  body  of  militia,  setting 
at  naught  all  the  principles  of  strategy,  but  animated  by  the 
utmost  ardour  of  courage.  They  had  no  commander.  Each 
one  of  several  colonels  commanded  a  day  in  rotation.  They  were 
beholden  to  no  government,  under  no  orders,  supplied  with  no 
arms  except  their  own,  mostly  rifles;  had  no  artillery,  no  stores, 
no  food  but  venison  caught  in  the  woods,  no  salt,  no  drink  but 
the  water  of  running  streams,  no  bread  but  some  cake  made  of 
Indian  corn  or  pumpkins,  no  tents,  blankets,  or  tools  of  any 
kind.  They  were  a  pure  and  perfect  military  democracy-  On 
the  7th  October,  1780,  nearly  the  anniversary  of  the  battle  of 


■P 


■fk- 


i^:-;».- 


"^\:>: 


-y, : 


•JA- 


180 


KINO'S    MOUNTAIN. 


[OCT.,  1780. 


the  Thames,  thirty-three  years  before,  Governor  Shelby  learned 
his  soldiership  in  that  admirable  lesson  to  punctilious  generals, 
of  what  may  be  done  by  a  good  spirit,  without  other  discipline 
or  materials.  On  the  top  of  King's  Mountain,  Shelby  lielped 
to  plant  seeds  of  a  republic,  since  spread  from  the  frozen  St. 
Johns  to  the  fervid  plains  of  St.  Jacinto,  and  destined,  by  similar 
spontaneous  accomplishment,  to  much  further  extension.  Of 
the  throe  colonels  elected  to  attack  liie  English  entrenched  on 
King's  Mountain,  the  one  chosen  for  command  that  day,  told  his 
men  as  they  mounted  to  the  assault,  not  to  wait  for  the  word  of 
command,  but  to  follow  his  lead.  "  Every  man,"  said  ho,  "must 
think  iiimself  an  officer  and  act  on  his  own  best  judgment ;  stand 
as  long,  and  fire  as  fast  as  he  can  ;  never  run  away  entirely, 
but,  if  forced  to  retreat,  get  behind  a  tree.  Finally,  my  friends," 
said  this  commander,  "  if  any  of  you  are  afraid,  he  can  with- 
draw before  the  action  begins."  With  this  exhortation  and 
discipline  every  man  mounted  to  the  assault,  and,  after  a  long 
and  bloody  action,  killed  or  captured  all  their  several  hundred 
enemies.  These  rude  mountaineers  celebrated  their  victory  by 
har '  ing  ten  of  tlie  captured  tories.  Such  was  Governor  Shelby's 
apprenticeship  to  arms,  in  which,  perhaps,  was  to  be  seen  some 
of  the  peculiar  American  spirit  of  wild  entcrprizo  and  contempt 
of  death,  which,  in  spite  of  all  the  Old  World  may  do,  say,  or 
think,  will  carry  the  adventurous  pioneers  of  tire  New,  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  oceans. 

The  night  before  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  Walk-in-the-water, 
with  sixty  followers,  deserted  Proctor,  and  threw  themselves  into 
General  Harrison's  arms.  Large  quantities  of  English  stores  fell 
into  our  possession  continually.  Late  at  night  Proctor  and  Te- 
cumsch  descended  the  river  clandestinely,  and  made  a  reconnois- 
sance,  with  a  view  to  attack  Harrison,  which  was  Tecumseh's 
desire,  and  probably,  Proctor's  .^est  plan  for  escape  :  but  the  En- 
glish general  did  not  choose  to  risk  jWhat  would  have  been  not 
only  less  dishonourable,  but  much  safer,  than  the  battle  he  was 
forced  to  accept. 

When  all  General  Harrison's  dispositions  for  attack,  on  the  5th 
of  October,  1813,  liad  been  made,  and  the  army  was  advancing 
against  the  enemy,  well  ponted  among  woods,  marshes  and 
streams.  Colonel  Wood,  who  had  approached  close  to  the  English 
— concealed  to  reconnoitre — returned  to  General  Harrison,  and 


m 


CHAP.  VI.] 


BATTLE    OF    THE    THAMES. 


181 


Ig 


lid 


told  him  that  Proctor's  men  were  drawn  up  in  open  Hncs;  that  is, 
each  man  somewhat  separated  from  the  next,  instead  of  standing 
close  togetlier,  as  is  the  strongest  and  safest  method.  With  con- 
siderable felicity  of  prompt  adaptation  to  circumstances,  Harrison 
instantly  changed  his  order  of  attack.  He  inquired  of  Colonel 
Johnson,  if  his  horsemen  could  charge  infantry.  Certainly,  said 
the  colonel.  His  men  had  been  trained  and  practised  to  charge 
in  the  woods,  just  as  they  were  to  do.  General  Harrison  then 
gave  Colonel  Johnson  the  «  der  to  charge  ;  and  in  an  instant  that 
battalion  of  the  mounted  regiment,  which  Colonel  Richard  John- 
son committed  to  his  brother,  the  Lieutenant  Colonel,  James, 
charged  through  and  through  the  English  infantry,  who  then  threw 
down  their  arms,  and  cried  for  quarters  in  a  much  more  craven 
mood  than  had  yet  been  betrayed  in  that  war.  Their  commander, 
after  demoralizing  them  by  guilt,  and  Ciicnmbering  them  witli 
plunder,  disheartened  them  by  pusillanimous  misbehaviour  when 
attacked.  Colonel  Richard  Johnson's  ordi  r  to  charge  was  dis- 
cretionary ;  to  charge  the  enemy  as  they  stood,  infantry, artillery, 
and  some  horse.  Fiiiding  that  the  whole  of  his  regiment  could 
hardly  get  at  them  between  the  river  and  the  swamp  where  they 
were  drawn  up,  while,  by  passing  the  swamp,  he  might  reach 
the  Indians  there  awaiting  our  onset.  Colonel  Johnsoti,  in  the 
absence  of  General  Harrison,  exercised  a  judicious  discretion  to 
consign  the  first  battalion  of  his  regiment  to  his  brother  for  the 
English,  while  he  himself,  with  the  other  battalion,  should  attack 
the  Indians.  The  English  infantry  delivered  some  shots  as  Lieu- 
tenant Colonel  Ja.nes  Johnson  approached,  and  for  a  moment  dis- 
concerted some  of  the  first  horses,  although  drilled  to  that  mode  of 
charge,  lint,  taking  a  couple  of  volleys  as  they  advanced,  they 
easily  recovered  composure,  rushed  on  the  in^'uitry,  pierced,  broke, 
then  wheeled  upon  them,  poured  in  a  dci^iructive  fire  on  their 
rear,  and  brought  them  to  instantaneous  submission,  without  much 
loss  on  either  side.  Quarter  was  at  once  given  by  the  nujch 
abused  Kentuckians,  as  soon  as  asked  for  by  their  calumniators, 
and  assassins  of  their  companions.  Proctor,  with  a  small  escort 
of  dragoons  and  mounted  Indians,  made  his  escape  so  quickly  and 
rapidly,  that  no  effort  could  overtake  him.  He  was  pursued  for 
many  miles,  abandoned  his  carriage  and  sword,  lost  all  his  plunder 
and  papers,  betraying  the  brutal  levity  with  which  English  oflicers 
entertained  each  other,  of  their  habitual  reliance  on  savage  bar- 
VOL.  I. — IG 


i- 


•.jii    ;ltl. 

l',":  3'',  ■'  ■' 

|C|^  :■■■!■■  ■- 


^;1 


182 


tp:cumseh. 


[OCT.,  1813. 


baiities,  and  found  his  way,  at  last,  through  many  tribulations,  to 
liurlin^ton  heights,  there  to  be  publicly  reprimanded  and  dis- 
graced for  cowardicn  and  avarice,  by  the  Governor  General  of 
Canada.  The  ^lisaster  of  the  British  army,  said  an  English  his- 
torian, was  not  ])alliated  by  those  procanlioiis,  and  that  presence 
of  mind,  which  even  in  defeat  reflects  lustre  on  a  commander. — 
The  bridges  and  roads  in  the  rear  of  the  retreating  army,  were 
left  entire,  while  its  progress  was  retarded  by  a  useless  and  cum- 
bersome load  of  baggage.  The  defeat  led  to  tlie  harshest  recrimi- 
nations, and  involved  the  division  of  brave  troops  serving  with 
honour  in  jNIichigan  Territory,  in  unmerited  disgrace.  To  this 
historical  reproach  of  Proctor,  we  will  perceive  what  his  com- 
mander-in-chief superadded  of  obloquy.  Thousandsof  hard  fought 
iields  in  every  quarter,  and  with  every  people  of  the  world,  by 
land  and  sea,  attest  the  stubborn  valour  of  British  troops.  No 
history  can  deny  their  characteristic  courage  and  fortitude.  But 
KncHsh  murderers  and  thieves  became  cowards  in  Canada:  hard 
words,  but  true.  To  save  themselves  from  retaliation,  and  their 
ill-got  plunder  from  recapture,  they  laid  down  their  arms  to  an 
inferior  force  of  raw  troops,  while  their  connnander  lied  in  the 
first  moment  of  encounter. 

Tecumseh,  with  his  red  braves,  made  a  very  different  stand 
agai'"^*  Coloiiel  Richard  Johnson.  Unlike  the  precipitate  firing 
of  the  Br'\ish  infantry,  these  gallant  savages  reserved  theirs  till 
close  pressed,  then  delivered  volleys  with  deadly  aim  and  elfect. 
Embarrassed  by  the  swamp.  Colonel  .lohnson  found  it  necessary 
to  dismount  his  men.  As  soon  as  Governor  Shelby  heard  the 
musketry  I'rom  his  station,  the  old  soldier,  eager  for  action,  led  up 
his  men.  Alter  some  time  of  close,  sharp,  and  mutually  de- 
structive fighting,  the  Indinns  were  forced  to  give  way.  But  not 
without  sacrificing  three  times  as  many  lives  as  the  English,  and 
leaving  infinitely  fewer  prisoners  as  trophies  to  their  conquerors. 
Active  and  conspicuous,  invincible  and  exemplary,  the  valiant 
Tecumseh  fought  till  he  fell  pierced  with  several  balls,  and  died 
a  hero's  death.  The  Indian  chief,  on  whom  the  savage  com- 
mand devolved,  deplored  to  General  Harrison,  ofter  the  battle, 
the  treacherous  cowardice  of  their  father,  General  Proctor,  by 
which  term  of  veneration,  he  still  mentioned  that  recreant  supe- 
rior. Such  were  the  Kentucky  recollections  of  the  massacre 
at  the  river  Raisin,  and  the  animosity  it  occasioned  against  Te- 


CHAP.  VI.] 


RICHARD     M.     JOHNSON. 


183 


cumseh,  by  no  means  the  guiltiest  of  its  perpetrators,  when  his 
body  was  discovered,  after  the  battle  of  the  Thames,  known  as 
he  was  to  General  Harrison,  and  recognized  from  other  Indians 
among  the  slain,  by  pock  marks,  and  a  leg  once  broken  ai'  1  set, 
that  pieces  of  his  skin  were  cut  oft"  by  some  of  the  Kentucky  sol- 
diers, to  be  kept  by  them.  Indignities  to  the  dead  are  commoti 
on  every  field  of  battle.  Refined  military  men,  who  might  con- 
demn these  Kentucky  spoils  as  barbarous  mementos,  would  sack 
cities,  during  days  of  authorized  horrors  and  licentiousness,  which 
prove  that  war  is  a  ferocious  departure  at  best  from  the  laws  o( 
humanity. 

Colonel  Richard  Johnson's  task  in  conflict  with  Tecumseh, 
was  much  longer,  bloodier  ainl  more  dillicult,  though  no  bolder, 
than  his  brother's  vanquishing  the  English.  Whether  with  his 
own  hand  he  killed  the  Indian  chieftain,  is  among  the  disputed 
occurrences  of  a  conflict,  in  which  his  conduct  requires  no  addi- 
tional celebrity.  He  was  repeatedly  shot,  and  desperately 
wounded ;  ilisablcd  for  some  time,  from  resuming  his  seat  in 
Congress,  and  then  upon  crutches,  which  he  was  obliged  to  use 
for  several  years.  He  served  in  that  body  for  many  years,  in 
both  Houses,  during  the  presidencies  of  Jefl'erson,  Madison,  Mon- 
roe, John  Quincy  Adams,  and  Jackson  ;  always  as  remarkable 
for  his  facility  to  be  overcome  by  an  applicant,  as  inipenetrabit! 
resistance  to  an  enemy.  No  man  ever  had  greater  dilliculfy  in 
saying  no,  than  Colonel  Johnson,  whose  name  is  recorded  to  as 
many  aflirniative  votes,  as  Mr.  Macon's  is  to  negatives. 

The  l)attle  of  the  Thames  was  our  first  regul;<  ■■  -.id  considerable 
victory.  I  have  not  attempted  to  describe  its  proli;ssionu!,or  indeed 
particular,  features  ;  that  having  been  done  by  so  many  others. 
Truth,  alwaysdillicult  of  attainment,  is  hardly  a  rudimi  nt  of  nar- 
ration when  involving  personal  animoi-iiicj  and  vanitic^s.  exacer- 
bated by  national  prejudices.  In  fact,  no  one  person  witnesses 
ranch  of  most  battles,  but  must  be  content  with  various  reports 
from  others.  Hence  the  English  proverb  that  fiilsehood  glares 
on  every  French  bulletin.  Ihit  what  shall  Americans  say  of 
English  official  accounts  of  our  conflicts  in  arms  ?  Even  journals 
of  legislative  bodies,  records  of  courts  of  justice,  which  in  their 
theory  import  absolute  and  unquestionable  verity,  are  not  only 
imperfect,  but  often  deceptive  reports  of  what  really  occurs.  The 
morals  and  lessons  of  the  war  of  1812  should  be  exhibited  and 


51. 


■if  -f-  ■  ■:! 


'j  ■  '•■; 


184 


PROCTOR     DISGRACED. 


[NOV.,  1S13. 


-Iv  »•■:■.:■'■:'■'■ 


..i    ■; 


^^■' 


explained  ;  while  much  of  detail  must  remain  controverted,  or 
unknown.  Tlie  result  of  the  north-western  campaign  was  to  re- 
lieve great  regions  from  English  power  and  Indian  devastation. 
The  moral  of  it  is  best  told  by  the  sentence  Sir  George  Prevost 
inflicted  on  General  Proctor,  which  I  think  proper,  as  the  best 
e/idence,  to  incorporate  at  large  with  this  narrative. 

Head-Qitarters,  Montreal, 
November  24,  1813. 

His  excellency,  the  commander  of  the  forces,  lias  received  an 
official  report  from  Major-General  Proctor,  of  the  affair  which 
took  place  on  the  5th  October,  near  the  Moravian  village,  and  he 
has  in  vain  sought  in  it  for  grounds  to  palliate  the  report  made  to 
his  excellency  by  StafT-Adjutant  Eeiti'enstein,  upon  which  the 
general  order  of  the  18th  October  was  founded — on  the  contrary, 
that  the  statement  remains  confirmed  in  all  the  priiicipat  events 
which  marked  that  disgraceful  day ;  the  precipitancy  with  which 
the  Stalf-Adjutant  retreated  from  the  field  of  action,  prevented 
his  ascertaining  the  loss  sustained  by  the  division  on  that  occa- 
sion ;  it  also  led  him  most  grossly  to  o  :aggerate  the  enemy's 
Ibrce,  and  to  misrepresent  the  conduct  m  the  Indian  warriors, 
who,  instead  of  retreating  towarils  Mach-^-dash,  as  be  had  stated, 
gallantly  maintained  the  conflict,  under  their  brave  chi^f  Tecum- 
seh,  and  in  llieir  turn  harassed  the  American  army  on  its  retreat 
to  Detroit, 

The  subjoined  return  states  the  loss  tlie  right  division  has  sus- 
tained in  the  action  of  the  fleet  on  Lake  Erie,  on  the  10th  Sep- 
tember, and  in  the  aflair  of  the  5th  October,  near  the  Moravian 
village  ;  in  ttie  hitter,  but  very  few  appear  to  have  been  reserved, 
l)y  an  honourable  death,  from  the  ignominy  of  passing  under  the 
American  yoke,  nor  are  there  many  whose  wounds  plead  in 
mitigation  of  this  reproach.  The  right  division  appears  to  have 
been  encumbered  with  an  unmanageable  load  of  private  bag- 
g;igc — wiiile  the  requisite  arrangements  for  the  expeditious  and 
certain  conveyance  of  the  ammunition  and  provisions,  the  sole 
objects  worthy  of  consideration,  appear  to  have  been  totally 
neglected,  as  well  as  all  those  ordinary  measures  resorted  to  by 
olJicers  of  intelligence,  to  letard  and  impede  the  advance  of  a 
pursuing  enemy.  The  result  affords  but  too  fatal  a  proof  of 
this  unjustifiable  neglecf.     The  right  division  had  quitted  Sand- 


CHAP.  VI.] 


PROCTOR'S     DISGRACE. 


185 


wich  on  its  retreat,  on  the  'iSth  September,  having  had  ample 
time,  for  every  previous  arrangement  to  facilitate  and  secure  ihat 
movement;  on  the  2d  of  October  Ibllowing,  the  enemy  pursued 
by  the  same  route,  and  on  the  Ith,  succeeded  in  capturing  all  tlie 
stores  of  the  division,  and  on  the  following  attacked  and  defeated 
it,  almost  without  a  struggle. 

With  heartfelt  pride  and  satisfaction,  the  commander  of  the 
forces  had  lavished  on  the  right  division  of  his  army,  tiiat  tribute 
of  praise  which  was  so  justly  due  to  its  former  gallantry  and 
steady  discipline.  It  is  with  poignant  grief  and  morlification, 
that  he  now  beholds  its  well-earned  laurels  tarnished,  and  its 
conduct  calling  loudly  for  reproach  and  censure. 

The  coniniandcr  of  the  forces  appeals  to  the  TCUuine  feelings 
of  the  British  soldier,  from  whom  he  neither  conceals  the  extent 
of  the  loss  tliL  ..rmy  hassulfered,  nor  the  far  more  to  be  lamented 
injury  it  has  sustained  in  its  wounded  honour,  confident  that  but 
one  sentiment  will  animate  every  breast,  and  that  zealous  to  wash 
out  the  stain  which  by  a  most  extraordniary  and  unaccountabie 
infatuation  has  fallen  on  a  formerly  deserving  portion  of  the 
army,  all  will  vie  to  enuilate  the  glorious  achievements  recently 
pevtbrmed  by  a  small  but  highly-spirited  and  well-disciplined 
division,  led  by  otiicers  possessed  of  enterprize,  intelligence  and 
gallantry,  nobly  evincing  what  British  soldiers  can  perform,  when 
susceptible  of  no  fear,  but  that  of  failing  in  the  discharge  of  their 
duty. 

E.  BAVDES,  .Idjnlant-General 

The  last  act  of  General  Harrison's  military  service  was  a  just 
rebuke  to  Generals  Proctor  and  Vincent,  Jbr  'ho  inhuman  bar- 
barities and  (les|)icablo  thefts  perpetrated  by  suborned  Indians 
and  British  ollicers.  Inuncdiately  alter  the  battle  of  the  Thames, 
Proctor  sent  a  flag  of  truce  to  Harrison,  audaciously  requesting 
\\w.  restoration  of  the  private  property  and  papers  captured  from 
the  lOnglish.  Reserving  his  answer  till  he  reached  I'ullUlo.  and 
then  making  it  to  General  V^incent  who  conuDanded  there,  tlie 
American  connnander  proudly  referred  the  English  to  the  report 
of  his  own  odicers  for  their  treatment  as  prisoners,  and  the  re- 
spect shown  to  their  papers  and  property  by  their  captors.  Of 
the  American  prisoners,  who  fell  into  Proctor's  hands,  those  who 
escaped  the  tomahawk,  General  Harrison  justly  added,  had  suf- 

16* 


.■:>:Ai 


:.\t. 


t^^'i 


>u,    .•■ 


I-!    *.  ■  '■"'■■■  - 

tS  '-  -.'"■'"'.  ''■' 
^'■'.'  L..ii'  ■■  ■•'•} 

lit--: 

It':: 


,   f  ■ 


186 


ENGLISH     BARBARITIKS. 


[OCT.,  1813. 


fered  all  the  indignities  and  deprivations  iiuman  nature  could 
endure.  In  not  a  single  instance  was  the  private  property  of  oliicers 
respected.     After  enumerating  many  instances  in  which  whole 
families  of  men,  women  and  children,  were  inhumanly  butchered 
by  savages  coming  directly  from  and  returning  to  the  British 
camp,  General  Harrison  solemnly  threatened  the  retaliation  due 
to  such  outrages,  should  any  more  be  committed.     Other  com- 
manders, lilco  Jackson,  in  Florida,  in  181G,  would  have  executed 
the  threat :  Ibr  retaliation  is  a  just  and  indispensable  principle  of 
modern  mitigated  warfare,  sometimes  as  necessary  as  the  execu- 
tion of  criminals  condemned  after  trial  by  civil  tribunals  in  pro- 
found peace.     General  Vincent's  acknowledgment  of  this  letter 
from  Ilarri-son,  pleaded  duty  to  his  king  and  country,  in  justifica- 
tion of  what  no  autliority  can  command  or  justify.     Chatham's 
fierce  invective  against  employment  of  the  savages  would  not 
endure  from  age  to  age  as  a  model  of  noble  eio<|ucnce,  were 
there  not  a  broad  basis  of  reason  and  law  for  its  support.     Such 
employment  of  unwarranted  and  unmanly  means  of  warfare  is 
contrary,  he  argues,  to  the  law  of  nature,  to  the  law  of  nations, 
and  mischievous  to  military  discipline;  extremely  detrimental, 
therefore,  to  those  who  use,  and  unjust  to  those  who  suffer  it.    It 
is,  he  adds,  an  enormity  calling  aloud  for  redress  and  punishment ; 
a  stain   on  national  character;   violation   of  tiie   constitution; 
against  law  ;  impairing  the  strength  and  character  of  our  own 
army,  infecting  it  with  the  mercenary  spirit  of  roblicry  and  rapine, 
familiarizing  with  cruelty  the  generous  principles  which  should 
dignify  a  -soldier.     God  and  nature  put  no  such  means  in  men's 
hands ;  shocking  to  every  lover  of  honourable  war.     In  vain  has 
the  Protestant  religion  been  established,  if  these  more  than  inqui- 
sitiorial  cruelties  are  permitted.     Excluding  from  this  celebrated 
burst  of  indignant  denunciation  the  dL'claniatory  and   poetical 
embellishment,  ''istille'^  to  mere  argument,  the  doctrine  is  un- 
tpiestionable  as  law  and  authority.     And  it  is  due,  not  only  to 
history,  or  the  past,  but  to  the  fu  .  iC,  as  a  rule  of  action,  to  the 
|)resent  and  at  all  tinujs,  to  explain  as  well  as  record  the  injunction. 
War  has  its  regulations.     In  some  respects,  Montesquieu  .says, 
the  Deity  may  be  said  to  go  by  rule.     To  poison  wells,  slaughter 
prisoners,  burn   churches,  spoliate   private   property,  mutilate, 
torture  or  violate  per,sons,  are  contrary  to  recognized  laws  of  war. 
Publicists  of  repute,  sjuch  as  Wolff  and  Bywrkershoech,  have 


CHAr.  VI.] 


ENCLISII     DARHARrriES. 


187 


•asserted  that  war  legalizes  any  violence ;  that  fraud  and  poison 
may  be  employed  against  enemies;  prisoners  killed  without 
necessity;  that  warriors  may  do  as  they  will.  But  enlightened 
civilization  repudiates  these  errors.  Since  Grotius,  Vattel,  and 
other  standard  authorities  have  treated  tlie  subject,  a  plain  prin- 
ciple is  universally  acknowledged  that  only  so  much  force  is 
lawful  as  is  necessary  to  accomplish  the  end  of  war,  which  end 
is  peace.  British  officers  cannot  plead  the  orders  of  their  superiors 
for  employing  instruments  of  war  whose  bloody  barbarism  is 
indiscriminate  destruction,  tortures,  fire-brands,  scalping  knives, 
and  other  unnecessary  wanton  means.  Both  the  government 
authorizing  and  otlicers  exercising  such  cruelties  are  liable  to 
retaliation,  a  principle  of  hostilities  of  universal  use  and  acknow- 
ledgment. When  savages  are  employed,  there  is  a  perfect  right 
not  only  to  punish  them  as  murderers,  but  to  retaliate  on  those 
who  employ,  abet  and  instigate  them. 

If,  in  the  order  of  Providence,  there  is  national  punishment 
for  offence,  long  arrears  of  atonement  are  due  for  the  forcible 
and  fraudulent  extrusion  of  the  aboriginal  red  occupants  of  the 
American  soil,  descendants,  perhaps,  of  the  Northmen  of  Eu- 
rope, or  the  elder  nations  of  Asia,  with  ancestral  titles  more 
remote  than  even  their  European  conquerors.  The  people  of 
the  independent  United  States  had  hardly  an  option  in  this  cruel 
policy,  which,  like  negro  slaves,  was  part  of  their  inheritance 
from  British  colonization.  The  evil  has  long  been  past  remedy. 
For  most  of  two  centuries  we  have  attacked,  overreached, 
provoked,  wasted,  destroyed,  or  driven  away  these  unhappy 
tribes.  In  almost  every  instance,  white  men  were  the  aggres- 
sors; till  intract./>Jc  animosity  bocamt  the  universal  sentiment 
of  the  white  and  red,  white  and  black  rnces,  and  negro  slavery 
and  Indian  oppression  are  too  deep-seated  for  political  remedy. 
Kindness  to  the  slave  and  to  the  savage  is  all  that  can  be  done. 
Colonial  and  belligerent  action  and  reaction  have  left  nothing 
else  practicable.  The  government  of  the  United  States  has 
never  been  wanting  in  this  duty  to  the  savages.  The  London 
Gazette,  during  the  war  of  1812,  furnished  frequent  testimonials 
of  constant  English  endeavour  to  prevent  our  engaging  the 
Indians  to  be  neutral,  o.-^  if  taking  part  in  hostilities,  to  be 
humane.  In  that  of  the  13th  November.  1813,  the  colonial 
secretary.  Earl  Bathurst,  published  the  Governor-General  Pre- 


;>■■ 


\ 

i 


I 


K^8 


ENGLISH    BARHARITIKS. 


[OCT.,  1813. 


IK  •  • 


[•//': 


'I.''.'    letter,  of  tlic   25th   August,   reciting   (leiicral   Proctor's 
*■  the  23d  of  that  mouth,  congratulating  England,  that 

(arrison's  efforts  and  missions  to  the  Iniiians  to  prevail 

on  them  to  abstain  from  their  cruel  practices  had  failed.  "His 
maj(^';ty's  ullifs,"  said  this  dispatch, "  will  adhere  to  their  great 
father  in  England."  About  the  same  time,  our  government 
was  more  successful  with  the  Mohawks  and  other  of  the  six 
iiMtions,  in  .fnly,  ISl  J,  engaged,  by  treaty,  to  make  war  against 
the  provinces  of  Upper  and  Lower  Canada,  but  under  express 
stipulation  that  their  customary  inhumanity  should  not  be  per- 
mitted. Accordingly,  when  a  party  of  militia  under  INIajor  Cha- 
pin,  with  a  body  of  tiiese  Indians,  routed  au  English  force!  near 
Fort  George,  it  was  arranged,  before  fighting,  that  there  should 
be  no  scalj)ing,  killing  prisoners,  or  other  cruelty,  and  .several 
wounded  prisoners  were  protected  from  harm.  At  least  some 
such  mitigation  of  their  barbarous  modes  of  warfare  would  have 
been  established  had  not  the  terror  of  those  very  modes  been 
one  of  Great  liritaiu's  strongest  means  for  waging  war.  An  act 
of  Congress,  of  JNIarch,  1815,  bestows  more  than  a  million  of 
dollars  in  annuities  and  supplies  to  more  than  fd'ty  once  fierce 
and  formidable  nations  of  Indians,  now  miserable,  banished 
fragments  of  brave  and  noble  races  almost  extinct. 

Consanguinity,  colonial  reverence,  innumerable  sympathies, 
and  national  identities  should  endear  Great  Britain  to  this  coun- 
try, and  recommend  her  power  in  all  its  resplendent  glory. 
Instead  of  which,  what  alienation  and  animosity  have  been 
engendered  by  selficsh,  cruel,  and  wanton  conflict !  We  owe  them 
love  of  liberty,  and  its  enjoyments;  nor  should  be  ungrateful  for 
sucli  creative  genius  and  numberless  inestimable  blessings.  Yet 
two  wars  already,  tell  the  estrangement  of  kindred  but  rival 
nations ;  for  which  the  cheapest  and  best  American  preparation 
has  been  that  spirit  of  hostility  kept  up  among  a  martial  people 
by  coniiiuial  malediction,  aggression,  caid  injustice;  never  sus- 
pended even  in  peace.  National  alienation  is  jti  the  order  of 
Providence,  without  which,  and  confusion  of  tongues,  there 
would  bi^  no  distinct  nations.  Hut  nuist  England,  lile  Rome, 
consider  all  mankind  barbarians  but  themselves?  With  two 
millions  of  subjects  in  2Torth  America,  Great  Britain  has  never 
ceased  to  encroach  on  the  eighteen  millions  of  her  kindred, 
anxious  to  live  in  peace  on  this  continent.     To  execute  us  trai- 


m,.i- 


C  HAP.  VI.] 


HARRISON'S     RETIREMENT. 


189 


lors,  those  born  in  England  and  emigrating  to  America  with  no 
hostile  or  treacherous  intent,  but  in  pursuit  of  tranquil  happiness, 
to  impress  seamen  from  American  vessels,  to  destroy  American 
commerce  for  interfering  with  English  warfare,  to  excite  the 
poor  but  ruthless  savage  to  cruel  hostilities,  to  arm  tlic  slaves 
England  left  here  to  dreadful  revolt ;— these  are  extreme  acts  of 
wrong,  of  which  posterity  can  have  but  one  opinion,  and  history 
will  tell  but  one  tale,  whenever,  in  the  course  of  things,  the 
might  and  majesty  of  British  dominion  pass  away. 

Soon  after  the  victories  by  water  and  land  which  freed  the 
whole  western  frontier,  and,  together  with  General  Jackson's 
successes  in  the  south-west,  broke  down  the  Indian  power  every- 
where— its  most  active  instigator  and  able  chieftain,  Tecumseh, 
one  of  the  many  victims  to  IJritish  alliance  and  subornation, 
sacrificed — the  biave  Kentuckians,  honourably  discharged,  were 
led  homo  by  their  gallant  leader,  the  venerable  Governor  Shelby, 
triumphant  in  18l;Jaslie  was  in  17S3  over  the  arms  of  Great 
Britain.  General  Harrison,  with  most  of  the  regular  troops 
under  his  command,  embarked  on  the  lakes  for  BuU'alo,  where 
he  landed  with  General  M'Arthur's  brigade,  on  the  21th  Octo- 
ber, 1813.  Without  having  been  actively  employed  anywhere 
on  Lake  Ontario,  he  left  the  north-west  in  the  latter  part  of  the 
autumn  and  pursued  his  progress  homewards,  feted  at  New 
V'ork,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore  and  Washington,  for  his  campaign 
victoriously  concluded.  Soon  after,  while  reposing  on  his  laurels 
at  home,  in  Ohio,  his  military  life  was  put  an  end  to  by  the  re- 
signation of  his  commission,  which,  probably,  he  did  uot  wish 
to  part  with.  The  military  districts  into  which  the  United  States 
were  divided  were  necessarily  very  extensive.  W^e  have  already 
seen  that  tliere  was  a  project  in  the  west,  urged  by  Governor 
Shelby,  and  favoured  by  General  Harrison,  for  establishing  there 
a  board  of  war.  The  president,  liowever,  thought  that  all  the 
various  channels  of  public  communication  centering  at  the  seat 
of  government,  much  more  accurate  knowledge  of  allairs  could 
always  be  had  there  than  by  any  commander  of  a  military 
district,  at  whatever  station  he  might  happen  to  be.  It  was 
deemed  essential  that  the  war  department  should  be  able  always 
to  issue  instantaneous  commands,  to  every  post,  quarter,  and 
oificer,  without  delaying  them  to  pass  through  the  hands  of  the 
commander  of  that  military  district.      The  practice,  therefore. 


190 


fJENKUAL     IIARRI'-ON. 


[DEC,  1813. 


m 


'i:     I'    • 


:*:•;;  •:'-/'• 


was  established  of  transmitting  tlicm  wherever  ilio  executive 
thought  proper,  aicornpanyiiig  them  with  iiieri'  liup  i-iates  to  the 
comiuander  of  the  district.  In  this  way  CoIoik;!  Croglian  was 
charged  MMtli  Ins  unsuccessful  expedition  it^aiust  Mackinaw,  in 
the  autumn  ol  1812,  which  I  have  not  thought  it  necessary  to 
dwell  tipi)n.  as  it  produced  no  result  to  the  hostilities  on  either 
side.  Other  such  orders  sent  into  (ieneral  Harrison's  district,  he 
protested  against  so  vehemently  that  it  became  the  subject  of 
correspondence  and  executive  consideration.  The  president 
fuially  inaflt-  known  to  (Ieneral  Harrison  his  deterinination  to 
}>ersev('re  in  a  system  which  the  general  denounced  as  inconsist- 
ent with  subordination,  and,  thereupon,  tendered  his  resignation. 
As  his  reputation  and  inthicnci'  at  the  time  were  imposing,  he 
perha|)s  flattered  himself  that  he  would  liavc  been  retiucsted  to 
keep  his  conuui ssion,  and  that  some  satisfactory  arrangement 
would  have  ensued  Ix^t ween  him  and  the  pn^sident.  Mr. 
Madison  not  being  at  Washington  when  the  tender  of  Gene- 
ral Harrison's  resignation  arrived  there,  the  Secretary  of  War, 
General  Armstrong,  who  did  not  esteem  General  Harrison,  and 
had  the  ;»re-;idciit's  authority  to  persevere  in  the  obnoxious  sys- 
tem of  orde's,  instantly  accepted  General  Harrison's  resignation, 
ii'id  suzgestod  General  Jackson  to  supply  the  vacancy.  Thus 
closed  the  military  career  of  William  Henry  Harrison  ;  who 
afterwards  served  as  a  member  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  on 
a  foreign  mission  to  Colonil)ia,  in  South  America,  which  he  soli- 
cited, was  elevated  from  the  clerkship  of  a  court  in  Cincinnati  to 
the  presidency,  and  after  one  short  month  of  treacherous  triumph 
in  that  ofTico,  crowned  his  good  fortune  by  premature  death  in 
the  presidential  mansion.  The  house  was  thronged  with  people, 
even  the  chamber  in  whic!)  he  died,  not  free  from  idle  intrusion. 
He  expired  with  iiicoh'-rent  words  of  patriotism  on  his  lips, 
before  ditlicullies  and  distractions,  to  which  his  administration 
was  inevitably  destined,  leaving  the  world  with  most  men  of  all 
parties  inclined  to  think  well  of  his  character,  to  magnify  his 
virtues,  extenuate  his  foibles,  regret  hi;  death,  and  celebrate  his 
memory. 

At  Mrs.  Madison's  drawing-room,  in  the  same  mansion  in 
wMch  he  died,  in  the  nd  of  the  year  1813,  on  his  triumphant 
return,  going  homeward  from  the  north-western  frontier,  he  was 
a  gay,  jocular,  and  pleasant  man,  vain  of  his  success.    A  hand- 


f'HAP.  VI.] 


ILLUMINATION, 


191 


some  and  highly  coniirctcd  latly  still  living,  told  the  prosidcnt 
that  Gciit'iiil  Harrison  had  received  her  coiniiiands  to  iiieot  her 
at  that  di'ii  wing-room.  Ihit  that  he  cannot  do,  said  ,Mr.  Madi- 
son, because  ho  loft  Washington  this  morning,  with  his  horses 
and  attendants,  all  at  tlin  door  of  this  house,  and  must  he  now 
son)e  t v.cnty  or  thirty  miles  on  his  way 'o  the  wot.  ''Still," 
rej)lied  the  lady,  ai   hly,  "  he  nmsl  he.  iii  lo,  J'or  I  laid  my  roin- 


iiuu  to  disobey  me." 

if  '^entle,  but  positive 

•x-i     !••  ohcys."     Tlie 

s  a|)pearance,  witli 

the  lady  smiling  at  her 


niand  ufion  him,  and  he  is  too  gal 
The  president  rejoined  with  his  n 
assurance,  "  we  shall  soon  see  wh  e 
(|uostion  was  presently  sottled  by  tli 
his  military  attendants  in  lull  costuu, 
triumph  over  the  most  successful  American  gt^ieral  of  that  day. 
and  the  President  of  th(!  United  States.  Steamboats  were  just 
bcgiiming,  rail-roads  unknown,  stage  coaches  extremely  incon- 
venient, national,  ;ind  even  turnpike  roads  very  rare  at  that 
time,  when  most  journeys,  particularly  to  the  west,  were  per- 
formed in  the  saddle.  The  daughter  of  one  of  the  Ohio  senators 
accompanied  her  father  five  hundred  miles  from  Chilieothc  to 
Washington  on  horseback.  The  wife  of  another  senator  not 
oiUy  rode  iifteen  hundred  miles  on  horseback,  but  passed  through 
several  Indian  settlements  for  many  nights  without  a  house  to 
lodge  in.  It  may  bo  added  that  her  husband's  colleague  in  the 
senate  was  born  in  Paris,  and  bred  to  the  church  in  France. 

Perry's  and  Harrison's  victories  gave  us  our  fu'st  public  re- 
joicings for  a  victory  by  a  Uect,  and  a  victory  by  an  army.  For 
the  first  time  Philadelphia  was  illuminated  by  authority,  in  Octo- 
ber 181.3,  when  the  city  councils  contained  majorities  of  the  war 
party.  Without  that  preponderance,  probably,  there  would  have 
been  no  such  show,  as  English  attachments  still  then  prevailed 
to  so  great  a  degree,  that  there  were  persons  who  declared  they 
illuminated  not  for  American  victories,  but  those  of  the  allies  of 
England  over  Bonaparte.  A  boat  on  fire  was  dragged  through 
the  streets  that  night  by  lads,  who  stopped  before  the  dark  man- 
sion of  a  gentleman  who  refused  to  put  any  light  in  his  windows. 
The  mayor  of  the  city,  John  Barker,  addressed  them  in  his  happy 
strain  of  popular  oratory,  to  prevent  violence  to  the  house  which 
dared  to  be  dark  on  such  an  occasion.  Wild  law,  as  Locke  calls 
it,  lynch  law,  as  termed  in  the  United  States,  is  often  provoked, 
though  it  may  not  be  justified,  by  some  inconsiderate  defiance, 


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like  this  challenge  of  a  torch.  Has  an  individual  a  moral  right, 
when  a  city  is  illuminated,  to  put  his  veto  on  the  proceeding  ? 
Throwing  the  tea  overboard  at  Boston  introduced  the  revolution 
which  has  lighted  both  hemispheres  with  other  revolutions.  The 
owner  of  the  rebel  house  was  the  late  Judge  Joseph  Hopkinson, 
son  of  a  signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  who  lived  to 
acknowledge  cordially,  the  advantages  of  a  war  of  which  he 
once  denied  the  justice  as  sincerely ;  a  gentleman  distinguished 
as  a  member  of  Congress,  as  a  judge  of  the  federal  District  Court, 
as  a  writer,  as  an  orator,  and  as  one  of  many  who  confessed  that 
the  war  of  1812,  which  he  opposed,  was  happy  in  its  influences. 


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CHAP.  VII.] 


COAST     WARFARE. 


193 


CHAPTER    VII. 


iH--- 


("OAST  WAUFARK.— ARRIVAL  OF  ADMIRAL  WARREX  WITH  BRITISH 
FLKKTS.— HLOCKADKS  OF  TIIH  UNITF.D  STATKS  KXCHl'T  NEW  ENG- 
LAND.—MARAUDINO  i:XPEDITIONS  OF  ADMIRAL  COCKHURN.— HURNINO 
HAVRE  DH  (iRACE,  FRENCHTOWX,  EREDERICKTOWN,  CEOROETOWN.— 
ENEMY  lU'.l'lLSED  AT  LEWISTOWN.— DEFEATED  AT  CHANEY  ISLAND. 
— Fi^EHLEXESS  OF  NAVAL  POWER  IN  LAND  WARFARE.— ITS  ILLE- 
CALIJIES.— ATTEMPT  TO  RURN  THE  FRIGATE  CONSTELLATION.— 
CAPIT  RE  OF  HAMPTON  BY  BRllTSH  LAND  AND  NAVAL  FORCES.— 
BARBARITIES  THERE.— MR.  CLAY'S  MOTION  IN  COMiRESS  FOR  A 
COM.MITTEE  TO  RE1>0RT  ON  THE  SI'llJECT.— COMMITTEE  APPOINTED, 
NATHANIEL  MACON  CHAIRMAN.— HIS  POLITICAL  PORTRAIT. 

As  hostilities  began  in  the  north-west  by  Hull's  invasion  of 
Canada,  ami  were  prosecuted  in  that  quarter  from  August,  1812 
till  October,  1813,  when  they  closed  by  the  expulsion  of  the 
Etiglish  (Voni  nearly  all  places  there  except  Mackinaw,  the  chain 
of  narrative  has  pursued  those  occurrences  without  interruption 
from  the  beginning  to  the  end,  except  by  the  chapter  upon  the 
first  session  of  Congress.  We  now  return  to  an  earlier  period, 
in  order  to  give  some  account  of  the  war  on  the  Atlantic  sea- 
board, in  the  year  1813. 

Mr.  Augustus  Foster,  the  English  minister  at  Washington 
when  war  was  declared,  was  a  young  man  of  not  much  capacity 
to  foresee  the  probability  of  it.  Surrounded  there  by  oppo- 
nents of  the  war,  filling  his  drawing-rooms  and  partaking  of  his 
hospitality,  members  of  Congress  and  others,  who  discredited 
such  an  event  because  they  hoped  it  would  not  take  place,  it 
came  upon  him  and  his  government  by  surprise,  who  were,  for 
the  moment,  as  much  unprepared  for  it  as  ours.  When  the 
orders  in  council  were  repealed  on  the  23d  June,  1812,  almost 
simultaneously  with  our  declaration  of  war,  the  English  expecta- 
tion was  so  strong  of  its  being  immediately  put  a  stop  to,  that 
Mr.  Foster's  first  step,  when  he  reached  Halifax,  on  his  way  to 
England,  was  to  send  to  the  Governor-General  of  Canada,  to 
propose   to  the   American   government  terms  of  pacification, 

VOL.  I.  — 17 


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194 


COAST    WARFARE. 


[MARCH,  1813. 


rather  than  to  accelerate  at  Halifax,  or  to  send  to  England  for, 
the  means  of  hostilities.     The  party  opposed  to  war  encouraged 
the  British  minister's  persuasion  that  it  was  impossible.    They 
assured  him,  as  no  doubt  he  did  his  government,  that  it  never 
would  be  declared,  however  much  it  might  be  threatened,  and 
when  the  British  orders  in  council  were  repealed,  that  govern- 
ment had  every  reason  to  be  confident  that  it  neither  could  nor 
would  be  persevered  in.     Great  Britain  was,  moreover,  at  that 
moment,  absorbed  by  her  stupeinlous  struggle  with  France,  at 
an  expenditure  for  that  year  of  live  hundred  millions  of  dollars. 
Her  statesmen  had,  therefore,  neither  time,  means,  nor  thought  to 
bestow  upon  a  remote  and  comparatively  insignificant  conflict  on 
this  side  of  the  Atlantic,with  an  unarmed,  un warlike, and  divided 
people,  most  of  whose  maritime  portions  deprecated  hostilities — 
for  wliichjit  was  well  known,  the  executive  had  no  great  inclina- 
tion, and  it  was  supposed  even  Congress  were  not  well  disposed. 
Nearly  seven  months,  therefore,  elapsed  after  the  declaration  of 
war,  before  England  took  any  important  step  of  counteraction. 
The   Englisli  manifesto   (whose  argument   will   be   noticed  in 
another  place,  but  which  is  mentioned  here  only  to  introduce  its 
date),  was  not  issued  till  the  yth  January,  IS  13.     The  first  of 
those  illegal  orders  of  blockade  which  Great  Britain  had  then 
interpolated  into  at  least  her  own  version  of  the  law  of  nations, 
blockade  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware,  was  not  proclaimed 
till   the   afith  December,   181:2.      British    naval   forces  on   the 
American  coasts  and  stations  did  not  appear  in  an        •midable 
numbers,  till  February,  1S1;3;  on  the  4th  of  which        nth  and 
year.  Admiral  Sir  John  Borlase  Warren,  then  ■.Vival  coinmander- 
iii-chief.  took  possession  of  Hampton  Roiids,  in  t!ie  ('hesapeake 
Bay,  with  two  ships  of  the  line,  four  frigati^s,  ;\nd  several  .'<mal!er 
vessels  of  war.      In   March,  181.'3,  Captnin   Beresford,  in   the 
Poictiers  seventy-four  gun-ship,  which  had  been  on  our  coast  the 
preceding  October,  when  that  vessel  recaptured  the  Frolic  and 
took  the  Wasp,  soon  after  the  Frolic  surrendered  to  the  Wasp — 
the  Poictiers  seventy-lour,  with  the  Belvidera  frigate,  took  pos- 
session of  Delaware  Bay.     in  the  spring  of  the  year  1S1;J,  the 
British  fleets  on  the  American  coast  and  stations  from  Halifax  to 
Bermuda  consisted  of  six  seventy-four  gun  ships,  thirteen  frigates 
of  various  sizes,  rated  from  thirty-eight  to  thirty-two  guns,  and 
eighteen  sloops  of  war  rated  from  eighteen  to  twenty-two  guns. 


CHAP.  VII.] 


BLOCKADES. 


195 


all  under  the  command  of  Admiral  Warren ;  most  of  them  in 
the  Chesapeake  Bay,  a  few  in  the  Delaware  Bay,  and  others 
distrihiited  along  the  coast  as  was  deemed  necessary.  By  that 
time  the  American  frigate  Constitution  had  taken  the  British 
frigate  Guerriere,  the  Wasp  sloop  of  war  had  taken  the  Frolic, 
the  frigate  United  States  had  taken  the  Macedonian,  the  Con- 
stitution had  taken  the  Java,  the  Hornet  had  taken  the  Pea- 
cock; and  the  naval  prowess  of  the  United  States  was  established 
while  yet  their  naval  power  was  incompetent  to  cope  with  that 
of  Great  Britain.  On  the  20th  March,  1S13,  the  whole  coast  of 
the  United  States  was  declared  to  be  in  a  state  of  blockade,  with 
the  exception  of  Rhode  Island,  Massachusetts,  and  New  Hamp- 
shire, Why  this  invidious  discrimination  pretermitted  Connec- 
ticut, was  not  explained.  The  object  of  the  exception  of  several 
states  was  obviously  to  sow  dissension  among  the  United  States, 
by  inflicting  British  vengeance  on  those  parts  which  refused  to 
make  peace  without  relinquishment  of  impressment,  and  to 
favour  other  parts,  whose  people  and  constituted  authorities  were 
clamorous  for  peace  upon  almost  any  terms.  England  always 
misapprehended  the  force  of  the  Union. 

As  soon  as  the  iirst  of  these  blockades  was  known  in  Europe, 
complaints  of  them  were  made  by  neutral  powers  to  Great 
Britain;  particularly  by  Sweden,  on  the  31st  March,  1813,  to 
whose  minister,  Kehauson,  the  English  Secretary,  Castlereagh, 
on  the  11th  April,  gave  assurance  that  neutral  vessels,  having 
sailed  without  notice  of  the  blockade,  would  be  relieved  from  its 
oj)eration.  The  orders  in  council,  and  other  such  violations  of 
maritime  law,  had  begun  to  be  generally  questioned  if  not  con- 
demned, even  in  England.  Still,  by  proclamation  from  Halifax 
on  the  ICth  November,  1813,  Admiral  Warren,  to  what  was 
called  strict  and  rigorous  blockade  of  the  Chesapeake,  the  Dela- 
ware, and  the  forts  and  harbours  of  New  York,  Charlestown, 
Port-Royal,  Savannah,  and  the  river  Mississippi,  superadded  the 
sea-coast  from  Montauk  Point  along  Long-Island,  all  ports  and 
harbours,  bays  and  creeks,  on  the  sea-coast  of  New  Jersey,  Dela- 
ware, Maryland,  Virginia,  North  and  South  Carolina  and  Geor- 
gia; declaring  that  he  had  stationed  sulFicient  naval  force  to 
maintain  and  enforce  these  blockades  in  the  most  strict  and 
rigorous  manner.  This  declaration  was  palpably  false.  No 
such  force  had  been  or  could  be  stationed.    The  proclamation  of 


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W.-'-- 


-"■■"  '■  ^ 


t^'. 


196 


COAST    WARFARE, 


[MARCH,  1813. 


it,  as  the  admiral  announced,  by  virtue  of  orders  from  London, 
was  to  revive  the  orders  in  council  in  one  of  tlieir  most  illegal 
and  olfensive  breaches  of  the  laws  of  nations. 

Till  the  overthrow  of  Napoleon  disengaged  more  of  their  navy 
and  all  their  army,  there  were  few  land  forces  with  the  ships-of- 
war  sent  to  this  country  early  in  1813  :  none  sufficient  to  attempt 
to  subdue  any  part,  or  make  a  serious  impression.  Some  two  or 
three  thousand  ibrcMgn  renegades,  called  Chasseurs  Brittaniques, 
enlisted  in  Spain,  from  among  the  prisoners  and  vagabonds 
taken  or  found  there,  if  not  intended,  too  well  calculated  for 
marauding  and  despicable  incursions,  came  with  Warren's 
squadron,  whose  second  in  command  was  a  notorious  freebooter. 
Admiral  George  Cockburn.  With  these  materials,  of  no  doubt 
considerable  aiuioyance  and  expense  to  the  general  government, 
some  of  the  States,  and  many  localities,  extending  from  French- 
town  in  Delaware  to  l*ortsmouth  in  North  Carolina,  but  effeciing 
no  great  injury,  and  even  doing  some  good  by  their  brigandage, 
the  IJritish  naval  means  were  employed  all  the  spring,  summer 
and  part  of  the  autumn  of  1813. 

War,  if  one  of  the  ways  of  Providence,  and  scourges  of  man- 
kind, though  lawfully  to  be  waged  with  intense  anci  dreadful 
severity,  is  nevertheless  always  mitigated  by  recognized  acts  of 
governments,  by  which  certain  exceptions  to  its  rigours  with 
courtesy  and  clemency  infuse  a  generous  indulgence  into  its  trans- 
actions, softening  some  of  their  rancour  and  ruin.  For  more  than 
thirty  years  of  highly  prospercus  peace,  a  hostile  foot  had  never 
trod  the  American  soil,  except  the  Indians  on  the  frontier;  and 
since  the  ftimous  Spanish  Armada  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth, excepting  civil  wars,  our  English  kindred  were  even  less 
accustomed  to  personal  experience  of  war's  calamities.  It  may 
be  that  long  exemption  rendered  us  peculiarly  sensitive  to  such 
distresses.  Yet  hostilities  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United 
States  seem  to  be  more  than  others  bereft  of  humanity.  Indians 
and  slaves  are  always  employed  in  them,  and  in  amphibious  war- 
fare there  is  necessarily  more  licentiousness  in  the  assailant,  and 
annoyance  to  the  places  attacked,  than  when  either  great  armies 
or  fleets  meet  in  general  engagements,  whose  effects  are  com- 
monly to  compel  whole  regions  to  submission,  rendering  it  the 
interest  of  conquerors  to  do  as  little  harm  as  possible  to  their 
conquests.   War  between  this  country  and  that  has  always  been 


CHAP.  VII.] 


COAST    WARFARE. 


197 


M 


civil  war,  Indian  war,  at  least  threatened  servile  war,  war  by- 
land,  war  by  sea,  and  war  by  both  sea  and  land  together. 
Armed  vessels  seizing  unexpectedly  on  unarmed  places,  armed 
enemies  landing  under  their  protection,  to  enforce  ashore  the 
more  licentious  liostilities  of  the  ocean,  to  seize,  spoil,  and  devas- 
tate, not  to  conquer  and  remain,  but  to  plunder  and  escape  as 
soon  as  the  mischief  is  done ; — these  vexatious  and  expensive 
inroads  are  war's  most  odious  and  despicable  terrors.  Free- 
booters, stealing  by  night  from  their  vessels,  to  plunder,  ravage, 
and  then  retreat  before  defenceless  places  can  resist  them,  while 
exercising  indisputable  rights  of  war,  yet  perpetrate  its  worst 
inflictions.  The  eflect  of  the  war  of  1812  and  1S13,  its  moral 
etiect  on  the  United  States,  was  to  surprise  this  country  at  the 
unlooked-for  hostilities  of  Great  IJritain.  Till  war  was  declared, 
it  was,  as  the  president's  war  message  argued,  waged  in  fact  by 
England  alone,  without  retaliation  by  the  United  States.  Through- 
out the  year  1812  both  countries  were  amazed  to  discover,  that 
on  the  ocean,  where  not  a  sail  w.as  said  to  spread  but  by  English 
permission,  the  American  marine,  both  commercial  and  military, 
suffered  less  injury,  and  inflicted  more  than  that  of  Great  Britain. 
On  the  land,  where  our  power  was  so  much  the  greatest,  her 
superior  oflicers,  skill  and  intrepidity,  with  savage  reinforcements, 
everywhere  worsted  American  attacks.  Till  war  had  contiiuied 
nearly  a  year.  Great  Britain  was  not  the  assailant.  In  1S13, 
when  her  forces  became  such,  nothing  was  more  unexpected  than 
the  paltriness  of  their  capacity  for  harm,  and  the  meanness  of 
their  attempts  to  do  it.  British  character  by  sea  sunk  as  low 
and  as  fast  as  American  character  rose  by  sea  and  fell  by  land, 
it  was  not  only  on  the  high  seas,  in  sea  fights  there,  that  this 
result  took  place :  which  was  as  forcibly  realized  from  British  futi- 
lities and  barbarities,  with  land  and  sea  forces  combined  in  coast 
warfare.  The  arrival  of  British  fleets  in  our  defenceless  waters, 
bringing  with  them  undefined  but  fearful  impressions  of  British 
naval  enterprise  and  power,  was  the  signal  for  a  series  of  little 
marauding  attacks,  by  no  means  as  considerable  or  formidable  as 
those  of  the  buccaneers  in  the  tropical  regions  of  America  two 
centuries  before.  Lewistown,  a  small  fishing  place  on  Delaware 
Bay,  Frenchtown,  a  hamlet  of  three  houses  in  the  State  of  Dela- 
ware, Havre  de  Grace,  a  village  of  some  fifty  or  sixty  houses, 
Fredericktown  and  Georgetown,  small  villages  in  Maryland, 

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P;.^: ... 


198 


COAST    WARFARE. 


[MARCH,  1813. 


Hampton,  an  insignificant  outport  of  Norfolk  in  Virginia,  Ports- 
month  in  North  Carolina,  and  Norfolk,  the  only  town  of  any 
importance,  in  all  this  range  of  wretched  mischief,  together  with 
divers  barns,  stables,  mills,  foundries,  bridges,  cottages,  and  other 
isolated  and  extremely  humble  objects  of  unworthy  molesta- 
tion, were  surprised  by  night,  ravaged,  burned,  plundered  and 
deserted  by  British  oflicers  of  high  rank,  whose  renown  preceded 
them  as  seamen  of  groat  exploits,  and  gentlemen  incapable  of 
such  paltry  malfeasance.  Market  shallops,  oyster  smacks,  plea- 
sure boats,  whatever  in  C'istomary  and  civilized  hostilities  is  left 
undisturbed,  became  the  prey,not  of  boatswains,  or  midshipmen, 
but  of  commanders  and  admirals,  headed  by  one  of  soldierly  air 
andgentlemanly  manners.  Admiral  Cockburn, afterwards  the  com- 
panion andintimate  oft!;';  prodigate  prince regentof  Great  Britain, 
called  by  his  courtiers  the  first  gentleman  of  Europe.  Nothing 
m  the  whole  war,  not  their  naval  defeats,  left  so  unfavourable  an 
idea  of  English  maritime  capacity  as  the  degrading  hostilities  of 
these  little  better  than  piratical  incursions,  which  must  have 
tended  as  much  to  lower  the  tone  of  English  seafaring  pride,  as 
«hey  did  to  elevate  the  strongly  contrasted  character  of  that  of 
American  mariners,  whose  very  privateers  never  descended  to 
such  unworthy  acts.  In  very  few  instances  was  the  supposed 
character  of  British  seamen  kept  uj)  by  t!;em  anywhere.  In 
the  coast  warfare,  their  boasted  trident  was  trailed  in  the  dust  of 
extremely  contemptible  warfare.  At  some  of  the  places  attacked 
they  succeeded  indeed  to  rifle  them  of  furniture,  or  burn  people's 
dwellings.  But  for  the  most  part  their  pillage  was  as  iiarmless 
as  it  was  unmanly. 

On  my  way  from  Philadelphia  to  Washington,  I  found  the 
whole  country  excited  by  these  depredations.  Cockburn's  name 
was  on  every  tongue,  with  various  particulars  of  his  incredibly 
i;oarse  and  blackguard  misconduct.  At  Frenchtown  and  Havre 
de  Grace,  and  in  various  other  places,  they  showed  me  the  ves- 
tiges of  his  wanton  vexations:  a  henroost  robbed,  (I  state  this 
fact  as  literally  true,)  the  panes  of  glass  in  a  church  window 
broken  to  pieces,  Commodore  Rogers'  residence  at  Havre  de 
Grace  defaced,  and  many  other  remains  of  little  spite  and  con- 
temptible hostility.  Since  a  large  British  army  landed  in  that 
neighbourhood  in  1777,  under  Lords  Howe  and  Cornwallis,  de- 
feated Washington  at  Brandy  wine  and  Germantown,  and  took 


'■  % 


CHAP.  VII.] 


LEWISTOWN. 


199 


Philadelphia,  there  had  been  no  marks  of  war  there  till  1813. 
Then  cannon  planted  as  posts  were  dng  up  to  be  mounted, 
squads  of  militia  and  volunteers  were  under  exercise  along  the 
roads,  gentlemen  of  distinction  serving  as  dragoons  and  privates : 
the  wliole  region  roused  to  self-defence  against  invasion,  which 
caused  universal  feelings  of  execration.  About  two  years  after- 
wards, on  my  return  home  from  Congress,  that  road  was  one 
continued  blaze  of  illumination  for  peace  just  ratified. 

Not  one  of  these  derogatory  little  invasions  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing any  injurious  impression.  Some  of  the  burglarious  attacks 
were  so  far  successful,  that  barns,  boats,  or  other  insignificant 
objects  were  destroyed  by  the  seamen  before  they  could  be  over- 
taken, and  prevented  escaping  to  their  shipping.  But  in  every 
case  of  considerable  effort,  especially  those  by  land  forces,  com- 
bined with  marines  and  sailors,  particularly  at  Craney  Island  and 
Norfolk,  the  enemy  was  signally  repulsed,  and  driven  back  to  his 
ships  of  war  with  much  loss.  At  Lewistown,  Colonel  Samuel 
li.  Davis  and  Major  Hunter  withstood  a  bombardment  of  some 
severity  from  the  Poictiers  and  IJelvidera,  wantonly  inflicted  on  a 
harmless  village,  as  the  English  said,  to  compel  our  people  to 
supply  them  with  fresh  provisions.  After  firing  a  great  number 
of  cannon  balls  and  bombs  upon  the  village,  with  no  effect,  they 
were  beaten  off,  and  withdrew  without  accomplishing  any  other 
purpose  than  convincing  the  country  how  easy  it  was  to  repel 
such  attacks,  and  that  its  thanks  were  due  to  Colonel  Davis  for 
his  good  conduct  in  proving  it.  The  president  conferred  on  him 
the  commission  of  lieutenant-colonel  of  a  newly-raised  regiment 
of  regulars.  Colonel  Davis  had  been  a  midshipman  in  the  French 
fleet  defeated  by  the  English  on  the  first  of  June,  1794,  after- 
wards served  as  an  officer  on  board  of  a  privateer  commanded 
by  Captain  JJarney,  was  at  one  time  a  member  of  the  legislature 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  is  still  living  at  adva'iced  age. 

The  frigate  Constellation,  commanded  by  Captain  Stewart, 
blockaded  at  Norfolk,  was  a  legitimate  object  of  English  cap- 
ture ;  and  they  made  several  attempts  to  eflect  it,  which  were  all 
defeated  by  her  crew  under  Captain  Tarbell,  and  the  Virginia 
militia  under  General  Robert  Taylor,  a  gentleman  of  the  bar, 
much  distinguished  by  the  skill,  judgment  and  success  he  displayed 
in  command  of  the  troops  in  and  about  Norfolk ;  a  few  regulars, 
the  rest  militia  and  volunteers,  together  with  the  crew  of  the 


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200 


CRANKY    ISLAND. 


[JUNE,  1813. 


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¥§■*:  .  -  ■  ■ 


Constellation.  Her  defence  was  arranged  with  the  usual  ability 
of  Captain  Stewart,  though  neither  ho  nor  Captain  Gordon  who 
succeeded  hitn  in  command  of  that  frigate,  was  present  at  the 
several  attempts  of  the  enemy  to  take  her,  which  were  completely 
defeated. 

On  tlie  22(1  of  June,  1813,  (the  anniversary  of  the  capture  of  the 
unlucky  frigate  Chesapeake,  in  those  waters  in  1807,  by  a  British 
squadron,)  while  Congress  was  in  session  at  Washington,  Admi- 
rals Warren  and  Cockburn,  with  between  two  and  three  thousand 
land  forces,  under  General  Sir  Sidney  lieckwith,  joined  to  the  sea- 
men and  marines  of  the  fleet, made  a  serious  and  regularly  plaimed 
attempt  to  take  Craney  Island,  a  small  out-post  of  the  sea-port  of 
Norfolk,  with  but  few  inhabitants  and  trail  defences.  They  were 
totally  defeated  with  considerable  loss;  loss  not  only  of  lives,  but 
of  credit,  for  their  attack  was  neither  vigorous  nor  well  sustained. 
About  twenty-five  hundred  troops,  with  fifty  boats  full  of  men, 
landed  from  the  enemy's  squadron  on  the  island.  A  few  cannon 
under  Major  Faulkner, and  Captain  Emnierson,  Captain  Tarbell, 
with  one  hundred  and  fifty  seamen  from  the  Constellation,  alto- 
gether not  more  than  between  five  and  six  hundred  men,  with 
batteries  of  not  much  force,  but  perfectly  well  served,  sulliced  to 
repulse  the  English,  who  lost  about  two  hundred  in  killed, 
wounded,  and  deserted,  besides  sinking  several  of  their  barges, 
among  the  rest,  a  very  large  one  called  the  Centipede,  full  of  men, 
well  armed,  nearly  all  of  whom  were  killed  or  taken.  This  was 
legitimate  warfare ;  but  one  of  those  feeble  performances  for  which 
all  the  English  amphibious  hostilities  were  remarkable ;  with  the 
single  exception  of  the  capture  of  Washington.  None  of  the  expe- 
rience of  the  whole  war  was  more  consolatory  or  unexpected, than 
the  great  diflerence  between  the  naval  character  and  deeds  of  Great 
Britain.  The  English  soldiery  always  proved  more  enterprising 
and  formidable  than  their  seamen;  and  for  reasons  which  will 
appear  in  my  ciiapter  on  naval  afliiirs.  The  boasted  marine  of 
Great  Britain,  much  overrated  at  any  rate,  was  in  181  .'3  far  below 
the  standard  of  power  universally  ascribed  to  it,  except  by  the 
American  navy.  Admiral  Warren's  official  account  of  the  re- 
pulse at  Craney  Island,  dated  on  board  the  ship  San  Domingo, 
the  24th  of  June,  1813,  acknowledged  the  failure  of  the  attempt, 
made,  he  said,  to  get  at  and  destroy  the  Constellation,  and  dock- 
yard, and  repulsed  by  the  militia  and  seamen  of  that  vessel 


CHAP.  VII.l 


HAMPTON. 


201 


Captain  Ilanclictt,  of  his  Majesty's  Ship  Diadem,  said  Admiral 
Warren's  dispatch,  who  vohiiiti-ercd  his  services,  and  led  the 
division  of  boats  with  aroat  gallantry,  was  severely  wounded  by 
a  ball  in  the  thigh.  This  Captain  llanchett  was  a  natnral  son 
of  (leorgc  the  Third,  born  some  time  after  his  marriage  to  the 
queen,  by  whom  he  left  so  numerous  a  progeny,  among  them 
three  kings,  George  the  Fourth,  William  the  Fourth,  and  the 
King  of  Hanover.  Not  long  iVom  the  time  when  the  regent  of 
Great  Uritain  congratulated  liis  kingdom  on  the  pilch  of  grandeur 
it  reached  by  dictating  peaco  to  France,  in  the  French  capital  — 
u  brother  of  that  regent  was  repulsed  by  a  handful  of  militia,  in 
an  attempt  to  capture  a  miserable  island  in  the  Chesapeake. 

The  repulse  at  Craiiey  Island  on  the  2'id  of  June,  lSl;i,  was 
outrageously  revenged  on  the  25th  of  that  month  at  Hampton, 
by  brutalities  not  less  disgusting  or  inhmnan  than  those  which 
disgraced  the  British  army  at  the  River  Raisin  in  Jatmary.  A 
combined  land  and  naval  force  under  Admiral  Cockburn,  and 
General  lieckwiih,  stormed  Hampton,  a  small  lishing  i)lace  in 
the  chops  of  the  channel  of  Hampton  Roads,  too  far  from  Nor- 
folk to  bo  su[)ported  from  there,  and  no  irreparable  loss  to  its  de- 
fence, which  the  enemy  was  never  able  to  overcome.  Early  in 
the  morning,  from  thirty  to  forty  British  barges  filled  with  men, 
approached  the  mouth  of  Hann)ton  Creek,  from  the  direction  of 
Newport's  Noose.  Our  troops  were  formed  on  their  encampment, 
divided  Irom  Hampton  by  a  narrow  creek,  over  which  there  was 
a  slight  bridge.  After  a  cannonade  for  some  time,  the  British 
showing  no  inclination  to  advance  from  their  barges,  one  men 
moved  Ibrward  to  meet  theirs  :  our  company  of  riflemen,  led  by 
Captain  Servant,  and  a  troop  of  drt;  j;oons  by  Captain  Cooper. 
The  enemy  continued  liring  grape  shot  and  rockets.  Tlie  action 
was  kept  up  with  spirit  (or  some  time,  till  the  superior  numbers  of 
the  enemy  compelled  Major  Crutclifield,  tlie  militia  oflicer  in  com- 
mand, to  order  a  retreat,  which  was,  however,  deliberately  con- 
ducted, iii  good  order,  and  frequent  firing  with  execution  on  the 
advancing  column  of  the  enemy.  Major  Corbin,  throughout  the 
engagement  gallantly  exposed,  was  severely  wounded.  Cap- 
tains Shield,  Herndou,  Ashby,  Brown,  Miller  and  Carey,  of 
the  militia,  Adjutant  Anderson,  Lieutenant  Armistcad,  Captain 
Goodall  of  the  regular  artillery,  every  officer,  and  all  the  men  en- 
gaged, especially  Captain  Pryor,  with  his  lieutenants  Lively  and 


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202 


HAMPTON. 


[JUNE,  1813. 


Jones,  and  their  brave  niatrosscs,  behaved  with  bocomiiia:  spirit 
on  this  occasion,  which  cost  tlio  enorny  more  than  two  hinidrcd 
men,  while  the  Americans  killed  were  hut  seven.  Tiio  enemy 
landed,  ;iiid  had  in  the  battle  not  less  than  twenty-five  hnndred 
men.     Our  lorce  fell  short  of  four  hundred  and  fifty. 

VVh<'th('r  from  exasjtcration  at  former  defeats,  and  the  obsti- 
nate resistance  experienced  with  such  disproportion  of  loss  on 
this  occasion,  or  from  the  ordinary  wantonness  of  English  marine 
warfare,  their  partial  success  at  Hampton  was  attended  by  abomi- 
nal)le  misdeeds,  of  which  not  only  Norfolk,  Hichmond,  Virginia, 
the  neighbouring  newspapers,  particularly  the  National  Intelli- 
gencer, but  Congress  and  the  whole  country  were  filled  with 
details.  It  was  universally  said,  and  generally  believed,  that 
Admiral  Cockburn  promised  the  men  as  inducement  to  this  cap- 
ture, the  contents  of  the  banks  at  Norfolk,  of  whose  fall  that  of 
Hampton  was  to  be  the  preliminary,  three  days  plunder  of  the 
inhabitP  's  said  to  be  very  rich,  and  free  use  of  all  fine  women. 
A  correspondence  respecting  the  enorniities  committed  took  place 
between  our  Cb'neral  Taylor  and  (leiieral  Meckwith,  in  which 
the  hitler,  wilhout  denying,  justified  them  as  provoked  by  our 
firing  on  a  ilag  of  truce,  wliieh  was  not  true,  and  as  perpetrated 
by  till!  French,  Spanish,  and  other  banditti,  foreign  renegades 
enlisted  into  the  IJrilish  army,  known  as  Chasseurs  Hritt:uii(pies. 
Unused  as  our  peoph;  were  to  the  horrors  of  war,  exaggerated 
reports  of  these  excessi-s  may  have  been  circulated.  But,  making 
deductions  and  allowanc(;s,  the  truth  remained  in  shocking  proof 
of  unwarrantable  barbarities.  Women,  who  could  not  escape, 
were  hunted  down  by  perpetrators  of  every  indignity  on  their  per- 
sons. No  help  was  given  to  the  wounded.  The  dead  were  left 
unburied.  The  females  were  not  only  violated  by  these  wretches, 
but  they  encouraged  the  slaves  to  violate  their  own  mistresses. 
The  sick  were  murdered  in  bed ;  the  maimed  and  the  decrepid  from 
age.  Silver  plundered  from  dwellings,  was  perhaps  not  illegitimate 
spoil.  But  the  pulpit  and  conmmnion  table  of  the  Episcopal 
church  at  IIami)ton,  (the  Church  of  England,  as  commonly  called 
in  liiis  country,)  together  with  all  the  plate,  although  the  donor's 
name  was  engraved  on  it,  together  with  the  parish  to  which  it 
belonged,  were  sacrilegious  booty.  Shirts  and  shoes  stripped 
from  aged  persons,  inchscrirninate  rape,  one  woman  ravished  by 
many  men— these,  and  many  more  such  outrages,  undoubtedly 


^i:^ 


CHAP.  VII.] 


HAMPTON. 


203 


coniinitted,  it  would  wrong  liLstory  not  to  record,  luid  civilization 
not  to  reprobato. 

Coinniittuesol'citizcn.s  were  appointed  to  verily  and  report  the 
tacts,  and  to  proceed  to  the  Uritisli  fleet  on  the  occasion.  Two 
respectable  gentlemen,  Thomas  Grillin,  who  had  been  a  member 
ol"  Congress,  opposed  to  the  war,  and  Lieutenant  liobert  l^ively, 
on  this  diuy,  reported  that  I'roni  all  the  inlbrmation  they  could 
procure,  I'rom  sources  too  rcs|)ectabie  to  permit  them  to  doubt, 
they  were  compelled  to  believe  that  acts  of  violence  were  \n-.i- 
pctrated  disgracel'nl  to  thi;  age.  The  sex,  hitherto  guartied  by 
the  soldier's  honour,  escaped  not  the  rude  assaults  of  superior 
force,  nor  could  disease  disarm  the  foo  of  his  fiuocity.  The 
apology  that  these  atrocities  were  committed  by  the  Krencli  sol- 
diers, attached  to  the  Hrilish  forces  in  our  waters,  is  no  justitica- 
tion."  The  town  of  Hampton,  and  the  adjacent  country,  were 
given  tip  to  the  indiscriminate  plunder  of  a  licentious  .soldiery.  In 
many  liouse.s,  not  a  kuile,  fork,  or  plate  was  left.  JJritishollicers 
phmd(!red  the  stores.  Medicines  from  apothecaries'  shops  were 
thrown  into  the  street.  The  sails  were  stripped  from  a  wind- 
mill. Trunks,  closets,  drawers,  were  broken  open  and  ritied. — 
Much  of  the  plunder  was  deposited  in  the  yard  of  the  liouse 
where  Admiral  (^ockbmii  and  General  lieckwith  lodged.  A  man 
longconlined  to  bed  by  extreme  illness,  was  shot  in  his  wile's  arms, 
to  revenge,  as  the  monsters  said,  our  militia  refusing  (piarters  to 
Frenchmen  shot  at  in  a  barge  ;•  Iter  it  surrendered;  a  slander, 
which,  even  if  true,  afforded  no  justification.  A  lady  was  seized 
and  stripped  naked  by  five  or  six  ruflians  in  scarlet  regimentals, 
who  spoke  good  English,  and  her  body  subjected  to  the  most 
abominable  indecencies.  At  one  instant,  escaping,  she  fled,  with 
her  female  child,  to  the  water,  from  which  she  was  dragged  by 
these  ruffians  for  further  abuse.  An  official  report  to  the  Gover- 
nor of  Virginia,  confirmed  these  indelible  blots  on  English  man- 
hood. It  was  then,  too,  for  the  first  time,  that  Cockburn  and  Ins 
followers  began  to  steal  slaves ;  not  to  emancipate,  but  sell  them 
ill  the  West  India  Islands.  A  company  of  slaves  was  also  formed, 
uniformed,  officered,  and  incorporated  with  the  English  troops. 
Colonel  McDowell  wrote  to  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  that  the 
gentlemen  sent  with  a  fiag  of  truce  on  board  Admiral  Warren's 
ship,  the  San  Domingo,  and  Admiral  Cockburn's  ship,  the  Marl- 
borough, in  order  to  reclaim  the  slaves,  (admitted  by  treaty 


'%■■: 


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r^-\ 


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^■ 


s.-     .  . 


'   5 


204 


HAMPTON. 


[JUNK,  1S13. 


after  the  war,  to  be  unlawful  prizes,)  ascertained,  after  some 
shabby  evasions,  that  they  had  been  forwarded  to  Bermuda. — 
These  indefensible  and  dishonourable  proceedings  were  accom- 
panied by  Admiral  Warren's  election  to  be  vice-president  of 
the  liible  Society  of  Halifax.  He  was  an  old  man,  too  promi- 
nent in  such  misconduct,  but  not  so  audaciously  so  as  Admiral 
Cockburn,  who  set  the  English  navy  an  example  as  pernicious 
on  the  sea-coast,  as  Proctor's,  near  the  same  time,  to  the  English 
army  on  the  western  frontier. 

These  violations  of  national  honour  and  usage  deserve  expo- 
sure, not  only  as  part  of  the  history  of  thi.'ir  transaction,  but 
because  of  their  denial  or  apology  by  disa'iccted  and  unpatriotic 
Americans  then.  They  declared  that  men  in  the  pay  and  em- 
ploy of  government  imputed  iniusual  and  unexampled  cruelty 
to  the  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  enemy,  in  order  to  alienate 
Americans  from  a  nation  with  which  they  said  we  were  more 
naturally  connected  by  the  ties  of  common  origin,  language, 
religion,  freedom,  laws,  manners  and  interests,  than  with  any 
other  people.  They  appealed  to  British  character,  the  establish- 
ment of  many  successive  centuries,  of  which  generosity  and 
humanity  were  the  brightest  traits,  to  refute  such  calumnies.  It 
was  impossible  that  British  naval  and  military  officers  could  be 
other  than  magnanimous  and  humane.  The  reports  of  their 
brutal  conduct  at  Hampton  arc  unfounded,  said  these  apologists 
for  monstrous  enormities.  Yet  were  they  too  true,  and  too  well 
attested,  to  be  contradicted.  Their  effect  was  gradually  to  disen- 
chant this  country  of  colonial  reverence  and  party  disaffection. 
Every  day  the  conviction  gained  ground  that  the  lesson  of  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  is  wise,  to  consider  the  English  as 
enemies  in  war,  in  peace  friends,  like  other  nations. 

The  massacres  at  Frenchtown  in  January,  and  at  Hampton  in 
June,  had  salutary  influiiuces  on  the  operations  of  war,  the  pro- 
ceedings of  Congress,  And  the  seniimeiits  of  the  United  States. 
The  lesson  was  severe  ;  but  it  required  inhimian  English  miscon- 
duct to  eradicate  the  deep-seated  feeling  of  national  attachment, 
which  prevailed  on  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  to  a  mother  country. 
In  the  west,  beyond  the  Alleghany  Mountains,  the  yeomanry 
and  rural  inhabitants,  generally,  of  the  United  States,  were  more 
independent.  They  nearly  all  sustained  the  war.  But  those 
who  traded  with  England,  and  their  dependents,  the  merchants, 


m^ 


CHAP.  VII.] 


COAST    WARFARE. 


205 


as 


lawyers,  brokers  and  sliopkecpers,  together  with  many  of  the 
New  England  clergy,  long  persisted  in  disbelief  of  English 
wrongs,  and  disafTection  to  the  government  undertaking  to 
avenge  them.  The  permanent,  as  well  as  immediate,  effects  of 
the  enemy's  outrages  were  providential  remedies  of  an  inveterate 
distemper.  While  throughout  the  country  at  large  they  operated 
to  remove  prejudices  and  promote  patriotism,  their  influence  was 
beneficial  at  the  seat  of  government,  in  all  its  departments. 
Congress  they  inspired  to  strong  and  united  reaction;  while  they 
cured  the  executive  of  lingering  hope  that  peace  was  attainable 
without  the  utmost  eflbrts  and  sufferings  of  war.  The  fleets 
and  land  troops  that  sailed  up  the  Potomac  and  Chesapeake 
towards  Washington  and  Annapolis,  were  the  same  of  whose 
enormities  every  one  had  heard  at  Hampton.  In  another  respect 
the  effect  was  excellent.  The  enemy  taught  us  not  only  to 
detest,  but  to  despise  him.  The  failure  of  his  attempt  at  Craney 
Island,  of  liis  repeated  attempts  to  take  the  Constellalion,  the 
transient  and  timorous  nature  of  his  incursions,  their  paltry  de- 
structiveness,  their  amazing  want  of  enterprise  and  boldness, 
relieved  an  unarmed  country  of  much  of  its  preconceived  ap- 
prehension, by  making  known  a  truth,  told  by  all  history,  that 
naval  operations  begun  and  sustained  from  a  distance,  are  seldom 
to  be  feared. 

After  those  British  fugitive  amphibious  inroads  had  taken  place 
at  Frenchtown,  Havre  de  Grace,  Fredericktown  and  George- 
town, but  before  the  before-mentioned  occurrences  at  Craney 
Island,  Hampton  and  Norfolk,  on  Monday,  the  24th  of  May, 
1813,  in  the  midst,  tlierefore,  of  these  scenes  of  marauding  and 
plunder,  the  session  of  Congress  began.  The  president's  message 
reminded  us  of  the  obligation  of  adapting  measures  on  the  sup- 
position that  the  only  way  to  peace  was  vigorous  employment  of 
the  resources  of  war.  And  painful  as  the  reflection  is,  it  said 
this  duty  is  particularly  enforced  by  the  spirit  and  manner  in 
which  the  war  continues  to  be  waged  by  the  enemy,  who,  unin- 
fluenced by  the  unvaried  examples  of  humanity  set  them,  are 
adding  to  the  savage  fury  of  it  on  one  frontier,  a  system  of  plun- 
der and  conflagration  on  the  others,  equally  forbidden  by  respect 
for  national  character,  and  by  the  established  rules  of  civilized 
warffue. 

Next  day  Mr.  Clay  was  elected  speaker,  and  the  oath  admi- 
VOL.  I. — 18 


■  .•* 


206 


SPIRIT    OF    WAR. 


[MAY,  1813. 


mm 


mm^^^'. 


nisteied  to  him  by  my  venerable  colleague,  William  Findley,  one 
of  the  oldest  i  ,en  and  members  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
The  day  after,  Peterson  Goodwyn,  of  Virginia,  submitted  the 
customary  motion  for  the  appointment  of  the  standing  committees, 
which  were  then  much  fewer  than  since.  Mr.  Clay,  placing  Mr. 
Macon  in  the  chair,  with  the  promptitude  and  decision  of  his 
character,  forthwith  called  the  attention  of  Congress  and  the 
country  to  the  outrages  at  the  river  Raisin,  the  in  ursions  as 
conducted  in  the  Chesapeake,  and  the  enemy's  general  unwar- 
rantable conduct,  by  moving  a  resolution  that  so  much  of  the 
president's  message  as  related  to  the  spirit  and  manner  in  which 
the  war  had  been  waged,  should  be  referred  to  a  select  commit- 
tee. Raising  his  fine  voice  in  the  splendid  hall,  surrounded  by 
representatives  of  the  country,  most  of  them  strangers  to  him  and 
to  each  other,  with  great  animation  and  force,  the  speaker,  with 
bitter  recollections  of  the  defeat  and  destruction  of  his  Kentucky 
companions,  expressed  his  abhorrence  of  the  enemy's  inhumani- 
ties, not  only  the  massacre  of  our  citizens  on  the  western  frontier, 
but  the  conflagrations  of  hamlets,  villages  and  farm-houses  on 
the  maritime  border.  The  latter  outrage  has  not  been  denied, 
said  he ;  but  apologized  for  on  the  pretence  that  we  had  first 
fired  on  their  flag.  Although  he  believed  the  allegation  false,  he 
was  glad  it  was  thought  necessary  to  make  any  apology.  There 
ought  to  be  inquiry.  If  the  facts  were  as  reported,  they  called 
for  the  indignation  of  all  ('hristendom,  and  should  be  embodied 
in  an  authentic  document.  Mr.  Clay  enjoyed  Mr.  Madison's 
confidence  :  and  it  is  probable  that  this  motion  was  made  by 
preconcert  with  him.  No  opposition  was  made  to  it,  unusual  as 
it  was  for  the  presiding  oflicer  to  leave  the  chair,  as  soon  as  the 
House  was  organized,  take  the  floor,  and  present  a  motion  for 
the  appointment  of  an  important  select  committee,  the  composi- 
tion of  which  would  be  his  own  act.  But  Mr.  Clay  was  not  a 
man  to  be  deterred  by  such  considerations.  Soon  after,  ho  iv- 
ever,  the  matter  appeared  to  be  settled,  Mr.  Thomas  Grosvcnor, 
of  the  New  York  delegation,  the  readiest  and  boldest  debater  of 
the  House,  one  of  the  strongest  opponents  of  the  war  and  admi- 
nistration, made  a  motion  to  reconsider,  which  motion  is  apt  to 
open  what  seems  to  be  closed.  He  desired  to  amend  the  reso- 
lution, by  adding  to  it  the  words,  and  by  this  nation,  after  the 
word  enemy :  that  is,  that  the  spirit  and  manner  in  Avhich  we 


CHAP.  VII.] 


SELECT    COMMITTEE. 


207 


had  carried  on  the  war,  should  be  authenticated,  as  well  as  that 
of  the  EngHsh.  As  the  president's  message,  said  Mr.  Grosvenor, 
contrasts  our  humanity  with  their  barbarity,  I  wish  to  see  the 
evidence  of  the  former.  This,  a  specious  intimation,  was  warmly 
repelled  by  Robert  Wriglit,  of  Maryland,  an  elderly  gentleman, 
quick  with  retort  of  all  kinds,  whether  with  tongue,  pen,  or  pistol, 
for  he  had  fought  some  desperate  duels.  The  amendment,  he 
objected,  cast  imputation,  a  libel,  on  our  land  and  naval  oflicers, 
who  had  distinguished  themselves  as  much  by  humanity  as^ 
valour.  After  a  short  discussion,  Grosvenor's  motion  was  re- 
jected, but  by  only  a  majority  of  twelve :  and  the  speaker  an- 
nounced the  special  committee,  without  putting  Mr.  Grosvenor 
upon  it,  according  to  common  parliamentary  usage  to  place  those 
members  on  committees,  who  take  an  active  part  in  debating 
the  subject  matter.  The  war  members  of  the  committee  were 
Nathaniel  Macon,  John  Forsyth,  Robert  Wright,  James  Clarke 
and  Perry  W.  Humphreys:  the  federalists  were  William  Gaston 
and  Thomas  Cooper.  Mr.  Gaston  was  one  of  the  ablest  and 
most  pleasing  speakers  of  the  House,  a  leading  member  of  the 
opposition,  afterwards  Chief  Justice  of  North  Carolina.  James 
Clarke  was  afterwards  Governor  of  Kentucky,  John  Forsyth, 
Governor  of  Georgia,  Senator  of  the  United  States,  Minister  to 
Spain,  and  Secretary  of  State.  Mr.  Wright  had  been  Governor 
of  Maryland,  and  had  represented  that  State  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States.  This  select  committee  did  not  make  their  report 
till  the  following  December,  181.'};  when  it  appeared,  and  was 
printed  in  a  volume  of  200  pages;  written  by  John  Forsyth. 
Of  course  it  required  time  to  procure  the  evidence  and  digest  it. 
Under  several  heads  the  report  explained :  first,  the  bad  treat- 
ment of  American  prisoners  ;  secondly,  their  detention  as  British 
subjects,  as  natives,  or  naturalized ;  third,  detention  of  mariners 
as  prisoners  found  in  England  when  war  was  declared ;  fourth, 
compulsory  service  of  American  seamen  in  British  ships-of-war ; 
fifth,  violation  of  flags  of  truce ;  sixth,  ransom  of  American  pri- 
soners from  Indians  in  British  service ;  seventh,  pillage  and 
destruction  of  private  property  in  the  Chesapeake  Bay  and 
neighbourhood  ;  eighth,  massacre  and  burning  of  prisoners,  pil- 
lage and  shooting  of  citizens,  and  burning  of  houses  after  surren- 
dering to  British  and  under  their  protection ;  ninth,  outrages  at 
Hampton— the  last  thus  mentioned  in  the  report.    The  shrieks  of 


.•*'•»'■' 


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208 


NATHANIEL    MACON. 


[MAY,  1813. 


the  innocent  viclims  of  infernal  lust  at  Hampton  were  heard  by 
tlie  American  prisoners,  but  were  too  weali  to  reach  llie  cars  or 
disturb  the  repose  of  British  ollicers,  whose  duty  as  men  required 
them  to  protect  every  female  whom  the  fortune  of  war  had 
thrown  into  their  power.  Human  language  affords  no  terms 
strong  enough  to  express  the  emotions  which  the  examination  of 
the  evidence  has  awakened.  In  the  correspondence  between  the 
American  and  British  commanders,  will  be  found  what  is  equi- 
valent to  an  admission  of  the  facts  by  the  latter.  No  punishment 
has  followed  conviction  of  the  guilty.  The  power  of  retaliation 
being  vested  in  the  executive,  no  measure  is  proposed  by  this 
report.  Such  enormities,  instead  of  inspiring  terror,  as  was  pro- 
bably intended,  being  calculated  to  produce  the  contrary  effect, 
the  committee  close  with  a  resolution  that  the  president  be 
requested  to  collect  and  present  to  the  House  evidence  of  every 
departure  by  the  enemy,  during  the  war,  from  the  ordinary  mode 
of  conducting  it  among  civilized  nations. 

Mr.  Humphreys,  of  Tennessee,  and  Mr.  Cooper,  of  Delaware, 
were  not,  I  believe,  in  public  view  after  tliat  Congress.  The 
other  members  of  the  select  committee  from  whom  this  report 
emanated,  were  all  conspicuous  in  various  public  stations,  as 
governors,  judges,  foreign  ministers,  and  secretaries.  But  none 
of  them  reached  the  posthumous  celebrity  which  their  chair- 
man's name  has  come  to,  no  doubt  without  his  either  expecting  or 
desiring  it ;  and  as  a  remarkable  specimen  of  American  demo- 
cracy, it  merits  full  exhibition.  Representative  democracy  is  a 
inodern  experiment  in  politics  which  has  never  yet  been  fully 
carried  out.  None  of  its  disciples  was  more  disposed  than  Mr. 
Macon  for  the  trial: — so  that  candid  portraiture  of  him  is  as 
curious  as  it  may  be  edifying. 

Nathaniel  Macon  was  a  practical  apostle  of  a  sect  of  poli- 
ticians radically  democratic,  invincibly  opposed  to  that  small 
majority  of  the  American  people,  who  organized  the  federal 
constitution,  modified  to  republican  institutions,  on  the  English 
model  of  regulation,  Mr.  Macon  was  opposed  to  it,  as  by  far 
too  monarchical.  Hamilton  dreaded  anarchy,  and  deemed  the 
English  government  the  mildest  form  of  republicanized  monarchy. 
Jefferson  dreaded  monarchy,  and  thought  that  the  American 
government  should  be  original.  Washington,  perhaps,  doubted 
the   republican  experiment,  but  was  resolved  to  make  it  iu 


■*.••■"■ 


CH..P.  VII.l 


NATHANIEL    MACON. 


209 


good  faith,  though,  as  he  said,  it  cost  him  the  last  drop  of 
his  blood.  Macoii  had  full  faith  in  the  most  democratic  institu- 
tions, willing  to  trust  the  people,  further  perhaps  than  Jefferson 
would  have  ventured,  far  beyond  Washhigton,  and  to  an  extent 
which  Hamilton  considered  anarchical.  Madison,  the  disciple  of 
Jefferson  and  admirer  of  Washington,  took  middle  ground  be- 
tween them  all.  Washington,  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Macon 
all  proved  the  sincerity  of  their  professions,  by  practising  them 
through  life,  and  to  the  last,  when  beyond  life's  common  climac- 
teric, when  no  sellish  or  improper  motive  could  induce  it ;  calmly 
dying  as  they  lived,  entirely  faithful  to  their  respective  princi- 
ples. Hamilton  was  cut  off  by  an  untimely  death  in  the  prime 
of  life,  killed  in  a  duel  at  forty-seven  years  of  age,  by  IJurr,  on 
the  same  spot  and  about  the  same  time  where  and  when  his 
eldest  son,  was  also  killed  in  a  duel.  He,  too,  no  doubt  che- 
rished to  the  last  the  politics  he  professed.  Selecting  from  the 
government  of  the  Old  World,  ranging  from  the  bowstring  des- 
potism of  Turkey,  to  the  democratical  royalty  of  a  mother  coun- 
try, the  founders  of  an  American  constitution  chose  the  latter  as 
a  model,  reduced  it  to  republicanism,  confederation  and  much 
enlarged  suffrage.  Mr.  Macon,  a  soldier  of  the  American  Re- 
volution, the  native  of  a  state  where  English  tories  were  most 
vindictive  and  mischievous,  and  born,  as  he  must  have  been, 
an  ini  ate  republican,  deteste  I  English  monarchy,  despised  En- 
glish aristocracy,  and  never  could  have  been  reconciled  to  the 
turbulence  of  English  democracy.  He  was  a  man  of  middle 
stature,  between  fifty  and  sixty  years  of  age,  when  I  first  knew 
him,  with  a  round,  shining,  playful  countenance,  bald  and 
gray,  always  dressed  in  the  same  plain  but  not  inelegant  man- 
ner, and  so  peculiar  in  his  ideas  and  conversation,  that  one  of 
the  Jersey  members,  told  him,  that  if  he  should  happen  to 
be  dr9wned,  he  should  look  for  Macon's  body  up  the  stream 
instead  of  floating  with  the  current.  Of  a  distinguished  family, 
brought  up  to  riches  and  accomplished  education,  he  left  Prince- 
ton College  in  the  Revolution,  not  for  an  epaulette  and  small 
sword,  but  the  musket  and  knapsack  of  a  common  soldier,  as 
such  enlisted  and  re-enlisted  in  the  American  army,  served 
long  in  the  ranks,  at  one  time  as  a  private  under  the  command 
of  his  own  brother,  never,  it  is  said,  desiring  to  be  commis- 
sioned as  an  officer.    Lest  this  strange  perversion  of  common 

18* 


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210 


NATHANIEL     MACON. 


[MAY,  1813. 


ambition  sliould  seem  to  imply  any  dissolute  vulgarity  of  dis- 
position, it  should  be  added  that  his  habits,  tastes,  and  associa- 
tions, were  all  gentlemanly,  perfectly  temperate,  and  without  the 
slightest  touch  of  unsocial,  gloomy  or  coarse  propensity.  Elected 
to  the  House  of  Commons  of  North  Carolina,  he  unfurled  there 
his  radical  banner  in  lh(!  same  quiet  and  inoffensive  way  that 
always  marked  his  singular  career,  opposing  the  adoption  of  the 
federal  constitution  with  all  his  ability.  In  1791,  chosen  to  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  United  States,  he  remained 
there  live  and  twenty  years  by  continual  re-elections,  having 
filled  the  great  statioti,  for  a  time,  of  Speaker  of  that  House. 
But  neither  his  principles  nor  his  habits  fitted  him  for  its  indus- 
trious, onerous,  and  absolute,  if  not  arbitrary,  functions.  To 
rule  or  govern  was  disagreeable  to  him,  or  to  labour.  As  a 
speaker  he  practised  the  principles  he  always  professed,  of  the 
utmost  freedom  ;  letting  the  House  alone  to  keep  itself  in  order, 
without  the  presiding  officer's  interposition  ;  a  principle,  in 
theory,  so  true  that  seldom  does  a  newly-elecled  speaker  return 
thanks  for  that  honour  without  reminding  his  sutfragans  of  the 
House  that  he  is  but  their  reflected  image,  and  that  unless  they 
keep  themselves  in  order,  it  will  be  vain  for  him  to  atten)pt  it. 

In  1816,  Macon  was  translated  to  the  Senate,  as  a  represent- 
ative of  North  Carolina,  in  that  body.  In  1828,  he  voluntarily 
retired  from  public  life,  and  spent  the  rest  of  his  days  at  home,  a 
planter  and  sportsman,  to  the  last,  fond  of  his  game  of  whist,  the 
chase  and  other  recreations,  lieloved  by  his  family,  neighbours 
and  slaves,  in  charity  with  all  mankind,  at  peace  with  himself,  he 
died  at  a  good  old  age,  with  much  more  veneration  and  influence 
than  fall  to  the  lot  of  many  more  conspicuous  personages.  His 
system  of  government  was  to  govern  as  little  as  possible.  Exten- 
sive dissension,  and  little  legislation,  he  held  to  be  the  policy  and 
duty  of  Congress.  Let  alone,  was  his  policy  for  nations,  for  par- 
ties, and  for  individuals;  his  strong  preference  in  this  respe*ct,  be- 
ing probably  strengthened  by  plantation  life  and  properly,  which 
beget  intractable  independence,  and  embolden  proprietors  to  claim 
a  sort  of  Polish  veto  against  whatever  crosses  their  homestead, 
or  requires  their  submission.  Six  years'  service  for  a  senator, 
were  in  his  opinion  five  too  many,  and  one  enough  for  a  repre- 
sentative in  Congress.  Tyranny  begins  where  annual  elections 
end,  was  one  of  his  maxims.    Nothing  is  more  miserable  than 


ir.  • 


i\ 


CHAP.  VII.] 


NATHANIEL    MACON. 


211 


a  splendid  and  expensive  governtnenf,  was  another.  He  was  a 
constant  advocate  of  (reqnent  elections,  that  ah  olhces  should  be 
elective,  and  for  short  terms  of  ollice,  not  as  the  only  democratic, 
but  likewise  as  the  most  durable  tenure.  High  salaries  he  con- 
sidered mere  baits  for  irregular,  and  ungovernable  ambition.  I 
have  often  heard  him  triumphantly  argue,  that  the  annual  and 
even  semi-annual  judicial  elections  in  parts  of  New  England, 
were  the  best  guarantee  for  faithful  and  permanent  service ;  and 
he  would  mention  families  kept  in  office  from  generation  to  gene- 
ration by  such  elections,  as  irrefutable  proof  of  his  opinion. 
Armies,  navies,  cities,  and  all  coercive  authority,  including  taxes, 
he  opposed,  as  well  as  the  good  behaviour  tenure,  and  political 
authority  of  the  judiciary.  Unbounded  confidence  in  popular 
virtue  was  the  religion  of  his  politics.  As  during  most  of  his 
life  British  power  and  infiuence  were  the  monsters  of  republican 
aversion,  he  was  invariably  set  against  those  Jefferson  called 
Anglomen,  looked  with  contempt  upon  all  the  imported  aperies, 
and  what  many  consider  refinements  of  fashionable  life,  atid  with 
a  stronger  feeling  than  contempt  on  that  American  idolatry  of 
England,  which  predominated  till  the  war  of  1812,  and  is  not  yet 
extinct.  Jefferson,  a  free  thinktr,  would  level  up  to  the  doctrmes 
of  Franklin,  Peim,  Locke  and  Milton,  and  extirpate  aristocratic, 
and  regal  encroachments,  which  have  usurped  the  place  of  abo- 
riginal liberty  and  equality.  Macon,  not  so  deep  in  thought, 
literature  or  science  as  Jetlerson,  would  have  outstripped  him 
in  actual  reform.  But  he  was  a  passive,  not  active,  radical, 
except  by  example.  Negation  was  his  ward  and  arm.  His 
economy  of  the  public  money  was  the  severest,  sharpest,  most 
stringent  and  constant  refusal  of  almost  any  grant  that  could  be 
proposed.  Every  one,  with  legislative  experience,  knovs  that 
many,  if  not  most  public  donations,  bounties,  indemnities,  and 
allowances  are  unjust,  often  unconstitutional,  to  individuals,  com- 
monwealths, corporations,  or  companies.  It  requires  courage, 
however,  and  fortitude  to  vote  against  pensions,  compensations 
for  alleged  wrongs,  and  the  various  other  demands  on  congres- 
sional charity.  Mr.  Macon  had  no  such  charity,  disclaimed  it 
altogether,  and  kept  the  public  purse  much  more  stingily  than  his 
own.  With  him  not  only  was  opthmini  vectigal  parsinwnia, 
parsimony  the  best  subsidy,  but  inticumy  the  only  one.  No  de- 
vice or  contrivance  could  seduce  his  vole  for  such  objects,  which 


'^:^\ 


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■iT 


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■tV-'!  ■  >.  ■•■ 


212 


NATHANIEL    MACON. 


[MAY,  1813. 


Is'fir.v-:-  •■■■ 


are  the  common  contrivances  for  local  popularity  of  most  mem- 
bers of  Congress,  but  were  with  him  repudiated  to  the  great 
gratification  of  a  North  Carolina  constituency,  not  rich,  and  shar- 
ing few  national  favours  of  the  kind.  In  the  nearly  forty  years 
he  served  in  Congress,  no  ten  members  gave  so  many  negative 
votes.  He  was  in  opposition  throughout  much  of  the  eight  years 
of  Washington's,  and  all  the  four  of  John  Adams' administration; 
did  not  coincide  with  all  of  Jefferson's,  and  part  of  Madison's; 
preferred  restrictions  and  measures  of  passive  suffering,  that  he 
thought  might  prevent  war,  which  he  considered  dangerous  to 
republican  institutions,  though  he  voted  for  it  as  a  necessary  evil, 
and  then  against  most  of  the  strong  acts  proposed  to  carry  it  on. 
Though  supporting  the  war  with  all  his  heart  according  to  his 
own  peculiar  politics,  when  Monroe,  as  Secretary  of  War,  called 
on  Congress  for  conscription  to  raise  an  army,  and  Dallas,  as 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  required  all  the  taxes  to  be  much 
increased,  r.nd  others  superadded,  Macon  voted  against  all  these 
measures.  It  was  alleged,  however,  by  others  besides  him, 
eminent  supporters  of  the  war,  that  some  of  t'^ese  measures, 
especially  conscription,  were  of  rigour  beyond  law.  When  Mr. 
Eppes,  the  son-in-law  of  Jefferibn,  chairman  of  the  committee 
of  Ways  and  Means,  during  the  war,  had  constitutional  scruples 
as  to  some  of  these  measures,  Monroe  said  that  we  should  look 
to  the  constitution  after  war;  but  that  with  the  capital  sacked, 
and  the  enemy  threatening  us  at  all  points,  from  Plattsburg  to 
New  Orleans,  we  must  put  forth  the  whole  force  of  the  nation, 
without  too  scrupulous  regard  to  what  was  constitutional.  When 
in  patriotic  effort,  Dallas  poured  out  a  flood  of  paper  in  treasury 
notes,  one  of  Macon's  maxims  was,  that  paper  money  was  never 
beat.  Without  ever  losing  the  confidence  of  his  party,  no  mem- 
ber of  it  so  often  voted  against  them.  Tenacious  and  inflexible, 
remonstrance  availed  nothing  with  him.  He  never  quarreled 
about  his  frequent  nays,  but  never  abandoned  or  reduced  them. 
Not  taciturn  or  austere,  he  was  a  frequent  speaker,  always  good- 
humoured  and  jocular,  but  always  self-opinionated.  Macon  had 
i  grain  preference  for  the  advantages  of  rural  over  city  life,  to 
tbrm  the  faculties  both  mental  and  bodily  for  distinction;  for 
courage,  eloquence,  endurance,  and  every  kind  of  eminence.  No 
man  should  live,  he  said,  where  he  can  hear  his  neighbour's  dog 
bark.    Sometimes  when  a  city  member  addressed  the  House  to 


CHAP,  VII.] 


NATHANIEL    MACON. 


213 


to 


his  satisfaction,  he  would  jocosely  say,  I  l":ed  that:  what  a  pity 
you  were  horn  and  brought  up  in  town;  but  for  that,  you  might 
liave  come  to  something.  Towns  he  tliought  unfavourable  to  tlie 
fervour  and  fortitude  which  stimulate  excellence.  Frivolous 
occupations  take  place  of  earnest  contemplation  and  enterprize. 
Reading  is  not  of  the  ri^ht  sort,  if  tliere  be  not  even  too  much  of 
it.  Rtiral  life  is  less  stagnant,  more  racy,  more  thoughtful,  and 
self-depeudent.  When  it  is  not  only  rural,  but  border  life,  full  of 
exposure,  adventure,  and  exploit,  it  obviously  conduces  to  greater 
strength  of  character.  Some  savagism  may  become  mixed  with 
it,  which  does  not  detract  from  the  strength,  liowever  it  may 
occasionally  tarnish,  the  civilization.  Not  one  of  the  greatest  Pre- 
sidents of  the  United  States  laid  the  basis  of  his  elevation  in  a 
city.  Washington,  Napoleon,  Jackson,  were  sylvan  born— born 
to  effort  and  endurance,  I  believe  Rlacon  never  lield  any  office 
by  other  than  popular  election.  Indeed,  he  was  too  fond  of  ease 
for  the  laborious  responsibility  of  executive  place.  He  is  an 
illustrious  example  of  the  eminence  and  celebrity  attainable  by 
faithful  service  in  Congress,  with  moderate  abilities,  constant 
integrity,  and  no  ulterior  or  untoward  ambition. 

Few  public  speakers,  secretaries,  ministers,  or  judges,  aspir- 
ants or  incumbe.ils  of  place  by  executive  choice,  fill,  with  pos- 
terity, so  large  a  space  in  public  esteem  as  Nathaniel  Macon, 
or  exercised  as  much  influence  while  in  any  office.  Born  and 
educated  among  what  Jetferson  calls  natural  aristocracy,  the 
aristocracy  of  virtue  and  talents,  Macon's  distinction  is  that  he 
loved  the  people.  Learning,  eloquence  and  action  were  not  his 
merits.  During  his  nearly  forty  years  of  life  in  Congress,  he 
hardly  ever  proposed  any  measure  ;  but  sincerity,  sin:plicity, 
moderation,  forbearance  and  integrity  gave  him  tides  to  reypect 
which  make  even  his  memory  influential.  Artificial  aristocracy, 
by  birth  or  wealth,  Jefferson  deemed  a  mischievous  ingredient 
in  government,  whose  ascendancy  should  be  prevented.  But 
natural  ari  tocracy,  by  virtue  and  talents,  he  regarded  as  the 
most  precious  gift  of  nature  for  the  instruction,  trusts  and 
govenmient  of  society ;  and  that  form  of  government  the  best 
which  provides  most  effectually  for  their  pure  selection  into  the 
offices  of  government.  Some  tliink  that  the  aristocracy  should 
be  put  in  a  separate  chamber  of  legislation,  where  they  may 
be  hindered  from  doirig  mischief  by  co-ordinate  branches,  and 


i  -hi^: 


214 


NATHANIEL    MACON. 


[MAY,  1S13. 


':^'-:-.; 


i-i 


't^  ■".,■■ 


»■■ 


be  a  protection  to  wealth  against  the  agrarian  and  phnidoring 
enterprizes  of  a  majority  of  the  people.  "Tliat,"  wrote  .felfer- 
son  to  Adams, "  is  your  opinion ;  while  I  think  that  the  Ameri- 
can constitution  provides  a  better  remedy  by  leaving  the  free 
separation  and  election  of  the  natural  aristocracy  from  the  mass, 
wiio  will,  in  general,  choose  the  good  and  the  wise.  Wealth 
will  take  care  of  itself.  Cabals  in  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  furnish  many  proofs  tliat  to  give  an  elevated  class  power 
to  prevent  mischief  is  to  arm  them  for  it.''  Macon's  equality 
and  radicalism  went  beyond  .Tetferson's.  Hut  he  was  an  inactive 
reformer  and  merely  by  the  force  of  example,  as  the  American 
republic  acts  on  the  rest  of  the  world.  A  planter,  of  moderate 
fortune,  coveting  no  more,  disliking  the  labour-gained  wealth  of 
professional  life,  and  the  chances  of  trade,  he  disregarded  the 
vexatious  vanities  of  riches  or  office,  except  that  of  serving  the 
people  as  one  of  many  law-makers,  among  whom,  too,  his  rule 
was  to  do  as  little  as  possible.  After  serving  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury in  the  House  of  Representatives,  what  most  would  consider 
promotion  to  the  Senate,  was,  perhaps,  departure  from  his  prin- 
ciples. Did  he  deem  it  rotation  in  office  ?  a  principle  of  repub- 
lican government,  of  which  Macon's  twelve  re-elections  to  the 
same  seat  in  Congress,  proved  that  he  did  not  consider  it  appli- 
cable to  elective  places.  Men  grow  insolent,  said  Tacitus,  in  a 
single  year's  public  trust.  Doubtless  they  should,  by  frequent 
recurrence  of  popular  election,  be  continually  subj;.  .ed  to  that 
ordeal.  But  when  incumbents  of  elective  posts,  like  Macon, 
are  faithful,  they  are  not  often  supplanted  without  detriment  to 
the  constituency.  When  one  party  vanquishes  another,  it  is  but 
just  that  the  principal  places  should  be  filled  by  the  victorious. 
But  abuse  of  this  unquestionable  principle  as  to  others  demoral- 
izes communities  by  pampering  morbid  thirst,  and  insatiable 
yearning  for  emolument,  substitutes  avarice  for  ambition.  Does 
not  Macon's  success  demonstrate  that  no  American  statesman 
can  be  successfully  both  ambitious  and  avaricious  ?  That  he 
can  no  more  prefer  himself  to  the  people,  than  serve  mammon 
before  God  ?  To  be  of  the  aristocracy  of  the  democracy  is 
common  ambition ;  but  Macon's  desire  was  to  be  of  the  demo- 
cracy of  the  aristocracy. 

Whatever,  says  Burke,  writing  of  the  French  National  Assem- 
bly, the  distinguished  few  may  have  been,  men  of  known  rank 


CHAP.  VII.] 


NATHANIEL    MACON. 


215 


)  ■ 


or  shining  talents,  it  is  tlio  substance  or  mass  of  the  body  which 
constitutes  its  ciiaractcr,  and  must  finally  determine  its  direction, 
hi  all  bodies,  those  who  will  lead  must  also,  in  a  considerable 
degree,  follow.  Macon  was  a  leading  follower,  not  a  summit, 
but  part  of  the  mass  of  Congress ;  not  a  commanding  actor  or 
writer,  no  demagogue,  liardly  communing  with  his  constituents 
but  by  the  monosyllables  of  votes,  always  before  them  in  print, 
but  taking  no  undue  means  for  soliciting  their  good  will.  Vet 
his  popularity  never  failed,  his  success  was  transcendent,  and  the 
iuthience  of  his  example  is  still  enduring  and  increasing.  The 
centralism  of  Hamilton  has  almost  disappeared.  The  federal- 
ism of  Washington  and  the  constitutionalism  of  Madison  have 
been,  in  a  measure,  superseded  by  the  rei)ublicanism  of  Jefl'er- 
son,  wliich  may  be  swallowed  up  in  the  radicalism  of  Macon. 
Will  that  be  declining  or  advancing  ? 

The  most  frequent  disparagement  cast  by  Europeans  on 
American  republicanism,  is  its  alleged  tendency  to  degenerate, 
a  downward  tendency,  which  is  to  swallow  up  learning,  wealth, 
liberty,  and  refinement,  and  establish  a  despotism  of  mere  vul- 
garity ;  that  public  life  is  less  sought  by  respectability  than  else- 
where or  formerly,  and  that  talents  avoid  it.  Whether  this  be 
so  in  America,  is  it  more  so  than  elsewhere  ?  Great  talents  are 
the  creations  of  great  conjunctures;  and  the  tranquillity  of  the 
United  States  has  been  almost  stagnant  under  the  present  forms 
of  government.  In  such  circumstances  commercial,  professional, 
and  other  lucrative  pursuits,  are  more  attractive  than  politics ; 
and  with  the  growth  of  luxury,  which  has  been  prodigious 
since  the  introduction  of  paper  money,  there  will  always  be  a 
large  class  preferring  fashionable  idleness  to  political  notoriety. 
Mine,  de  Staiil  says,  in  her  considerations  on  the  French  Revo- 
lution, that  many  of  the  old  nobility  of  Europe  despised  the 
Emperor  Alexander  as  an  upstart,  not  to  be  received  into  good 
society.  Social  and  ancestral  distinction,  a  strong  desire,  more 
prevalent  in  Europe,  is  not  without  acknowledgment  in  Ame- 
rica. Descendants  of  celebrated  Americans  are  often  chosen 
into  political  life  for  that  reason.  Congress  and  the  state  legisla- 
tures abound  with  members  boasting  some  family  merit,  such 
as  kindred  with  soldiers  of  the  Revolution;  and  it  is  common 
to  meet  with  Americans  who  preserve  their  ancestors'  certifi- 
cates of  service  in  tlie  revolutionary  army,  as  if  they  were 


j3.,' 

t 

216 


NATIIANIKL    MACON. 


[MAY,  1813. 


P:it:.' 


patents  of  nobility.  Hi^sidos  tlie  merits  of  personal  pedij^reo, 
Hurke  olo<pi(Mitly  viiuliralcs  tluise  ofhoiioiirnhlt!  tuitional  line!i;rfi. 
Yet  the  eoinitry  attorneys,  viliivre  lawyers,  notaries,  brokers, 
trailers,  and  clowns  whom  he  enumerates  as  the  majority  of  the 
third  estate  of  the  Freiieh  National  Assembly,  inferior,  in  his 
jndsTtnont,  to  the  noblemen  and  gentry  he  extols  as  hereditary 
legislators,  enacted  laws  \vhich  reformed  the  crumbling  basis  of 
society,  and  reconstructed  France  so  as  to  render  that  declining 
kingdom  not  only  freer,  but  incomparably  happier,  richer,  and 
greater  than  it  was  bel'ore  the  days  of  what  Hurke  calls  its  down- 
fall. If  I)e  Tocqueville's  idea  be  true,  that  American  democracy 
is  irn!sistibly  swallowing  up  everything  else  American,  and 
such  be  the  decline  which  Europe  in)pntes  to  this  country,  at 
all  events  Great  Hritain,  France,  and  all  the  freer  kingdoms  of 
Europe,  are  passing  down  the  same  declivity  with  more  vio- 
lence and  precipitation  than  this  country,  one  of  whose  conso- 
lations is  Jelferson's  maxim,  that  government,  at  best,  is  but 
rclativ(!  good,  and  that,  with  all  the  faults  of  which  it  is  accused, 
democracy  is  at  least  a  less  injurious  and  more  durable  siatc 
than  royalty,  since  one  of  the  un<piestionablo  consequences  of 
the  American  Revolution  is  that  revolutionary  movements,  with 
equality  and  liberty,  have  begun  throughout  the  Old  World. 
Be  that  as  it  may  as  to  public  bodies  and  national  stability, 
Macon  found  ptiblic  life  not  more  precarious  or  unprofitable, 
and  less  toilsome  or  irksome  than  private  pursuits;  and  if  Ame- 
rican legislatures  had  more  of  such  men,  faithfully  representing 
a  sovereign  people,  public  life  would  be  reasonable  support,  and 
the  most  honourable  occupation.  For  state  legislatures  and 
Conr  "s,  in  most  instances,  are  the  mere  chrysalis  between 
worm  and  butterfly ;  where  insect  members  perish  after  a  short 
flight.  But  such  is  not  legitimate  rotation  in  office,  nor  the  public 
service  Macon  performed.  With  him  a  place  in  Congress  was 
the  ultimate, not  penultimate  or  intermediate  stage;  the  goal,  not 
the  stepping  stone,  to  some  more  profitable  place  or  speculation, 
but  that  to  which  he  dedicated  all  the  faculties  of  all  his  life. 

If  there  is  romance  of  politics,  or  fancy  in  this  sketch  of  an 
American  political  apostle,  at  least  the  experiment  of  both  may 
not  be  unworthy  ot'  general  consideration.  We  must  endeavour 
to  divest  ours. 'Ives  oi'  thr  nflueuf^es  of  Europe,  and  stand  on  Ame- 
rican independence,  in  order  tt  appreciate  such  an  experiment. 


CHAP.  VTT.1 


NATIIANrKL     M  \(()N. 


S17 


Let  it  he.  homo  ill  mind  that  in  csfimnting  whnf  may  ho  thought 
rolapso  to  viilgnr  havharism,  or  advaiin.*  to  true  wi?<(lotn,  accord- 
ing; to  the  jndymont  or  \]\v  prcjndico  of  ih(!  reader,  whilo  M/iron 
lived,  snel<  was  the;  chance,  wliether  retro'jrade  or  progressive, 
thai  represeiitalivt!  j-overnnientjOpcn  l(  ^islalion,  n-lii^Mnns  loliTa- 
tion.and  political  ecpiality,  wern  first  introduced  amony  mankind. 
Th(j  wisest,  therefore,  may  misjudge,  tin;  wildest  he  loo  lanie  iu 
theory.  At  all  events,  Macon's  jiassivo  e.\ampl(!  has  had  pow- 
eri'nl  ndlneiices.  'J'hc  hook  ol'  .hihn  Taylor,  ol'  C/arolina,  proves 
it  even  in  litcratm'e.  Doing  nothing,  saying  little,  wliat  a  space 
^hicon  fills  !  Constrnctivc  and  aristocratic  excesses,  as  hu  caluily 
denoiuiced  them,  banks,  tarills,  taxes,  rapid  improvements,  mncli 
government,  arniies,  great  expenditures,  paper  money,  hii,Mi  pay. 
resisted  by  him,  with  u  very  tew  adherents,  are  now  rt'ji'eted  hy 
largo  portions  of  tho  American  jK^ople.  An  executive  Maeou 
could  liardly  bo;  a  Congress  fdled  with  them,  especially  in  time 
of  war,  might  not  he  practicable.  Yet  large  iid'nsion  of  his  doc- 
trine already  all'ects  all  our  institutions,  and  may  act  still  more 
thoroughly  on  American  government,  should  America  become 
a  world  hy  itself,  entirely  independent  of  European  pupilage. 
Already  have  chief  magistrates  of  the  United  States  proclaimed 
much  of  Macon's  principles  as  standards  for  their  administration; 
at  least  one  of  them,  Mr.  Van  Hm'cn,  visitisd  his  jieculiar  home- 
stead as  a  shrine  to  worship  at;  and  others  may  follow  in  his 
footsto]is  of  peace,  moderation,  severe  economy  and  radical 
democracy.  The  experiment  has  not  yet  been  made  how  far 
liberty  may  he  carri(!d.  Not  only  in  the  United  Slates,  but  in 
England,  too,  the  tendency  is  to  go  farther.  What  lias  not  the 
free  principle  done  for  Great  Britain,  in  spite  of  feudal  fetters 
upon  all  iier  institutions!  What  lias  not  ecpiality  done  for 
P'rance,  almost  without  liberty  ?  Are  not  Russia,  'J'ni  key,  Egypt, 
India,  South  America  much  freer  than  belore  Macon  lived? 
The  laws  and  intercourse  of  nations,  the  laws  of  commerce  and 
trade  of  different  parts  of  the  same  nation,  tho  laws  of  religious 
worship,  the  modern  philosophy  of  all  politics,  own  that  the 
world  has  been  governed  too  much,  and  that  a  great  trial  is  to 
be  made  of  cheap  self-government. 


snt. 


VOL.  I. — 19 


'   ■'::%'■ 


218 


taxp:s. 


[JULY,  1813. 


»-/;t?5»>' 


W'li'-'.LV'.- 

L  r-  '*■  ■•  ■'■■  *        *■ 

viM'  "^^  .■>  ''■ 


CHAPTER    VIII 


TAXKS.— nillKCT  T.VX.— TAX  ON  RKIIXKn  SUdAU.— SALES  AT  AUCTION. 
— UKTAlLKllS'  LlCllNSKS.—STAiMI'S.—CAIJIUACKS.— STILLS.— I'UODl'CK 
(»r  TAXKS  I  NDKIi  WASIHNdTON-S,  ADAMS",  AM)  MADL'^ON'S  ADAILX- 
ISTILVnoX.— SKLKCTION  ()[•  COLLKCroilS.— COST  OK  COLLKCTIOX.— 
KKOICTION  or  TAXKS  AKI'KR  WAIL— DALLAS'S  SYSPK.M.- .MONKOK'S 
ADM  LMSTUATION.— TAXKS  JiKl'KALKD.— C  UAWKORD,  SKCRKI'ARY  OK 
TRKASl  RY.— TAIULAR  STA'I'II.MIINTS  OK  TAX.VTIOX.- DKRAIK  AM) 
VOTKS  OX  RKPKAL  OK  SYSTKM  OK  1XTKR^^\L  RKVKXIK.— lU'KKCT 
OX  IMl'OST.  — TARIKK  OK  DITIKS.— WAR  LOWS.— PAPKR  MOXKY.— 
AMKRU'AX  AXD  KXliLlSIl  NATIONAL  DKIVI"  AND  CRKDI T.- SI  SI'KN- 
SlOX  OK  Sl'KClK  PAYMKNi'S  HY  RANKS.- KVLLS  OK  IRRKSPONSlliLK 
RANKINC— KKKKCTS  OK  WAR  OX  UKSOrRCK.S  OK  INPrKD  SI'ATKS.— 
roMMISSlOXKR  OK  RKYKXIE.- SAMLKL  UAllMSON  SMITIL— PIIKSI- 
DKNT  MADISOX. 


l^- 


1:'' 


[4    ■ 


The  great  ncodof  tlic  coiintrv,anil  business  of  Congress  in  1813, 
were  to  ])rovide  money  for  war  declared  in  a  state  of  total  iin- 
l)reparodnc.ss.  The  only  fiscal  measures  of  the  twelfth  Congress 
\vere  a  loan  of  eleven  millions  of  dollars,  doubling  the  duties  on 
importations,  and  autiiorizing  five  millions  of  treasury  notes. 
War  was  declared  the  ISth  of  June,  1812,  by  that  Congress  ;  and 
it  was  not  till  the  22d  of  July,  1813,  that  the  thirteenth  Congress 
])assed  the  act  for  the  assessment  and  collection  of  direct  taxes 
and  internal  duties ;  soon  followed  by  acts  imposing  duties  on 
refined  sugar,  sales  at  auction,  retailers'  licenses,  stamps,  carriages 
for  conveyance  of  pcrson.s,  licenses  to  distillers  of  spirituous 
liquors,  and  a  direct  tax  of  three  millions  of  dollars  a  year.  On 
the  2 nil  .luly,  the  ollicc  of  Commissioner  of  the  Revenue  was 
established.  By  these  laws,  sugar  relhied  within  the  United 
States,  was  t..  ^^ay  four  cents  per  pound,  subject  to  drawback  on 
importation;  sales  at  auction, one  per  cent,  on  goods,  and  one 
quarter  per  cent,  on  ships  or  vessels,  payable  by  the  auctioneer 
on  obtaining  a  license,  subject  to  deduction  of  one  per  cent,  on 
the  amount  of  duties,  for  his  trouble  ;  licenses  to  retailers  of 
wines,  spirituous  liquors,  and  foreign  merchandize  for  one  year, 
as  follows:  viz.  retailers  of  merchandize,  including  wines  and 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


TAXES. 


219 


spirits,  if  ill  cities,  towns,  or  viiiai^cs,  containing  within  tlic  limits 
of  one  mile  sniiare  more  than  one  hundred  lamilies,  twenty-five 
dollars;  of  wines  aloiio,  twenty  dollars  ;  of  spirits  alone,  twenty 
dollars  ;  of  domestic  spirits  alone,  lifieen  dollars;  of  merchandize, 
other  than  wines  and  spirits,  fifteen  dollars  ;  retailers,  if  in  any 
other  place  than  hefore  stated,  for  nierchandiz'',  including  wines 
and  spirits,  fifleeii  dollars;  wines  and  s|)irits,  fifteen  dollars; 
spirits  alone,  twelve  dollars  ;  domestic  spirits,  ten  dollars  ;  mer- 
cliandizc,  other  than  wine  and  s[)irits,  ten  dollars  ;  on  notes  of 
banks  or  hankers,  an  average  of  one  per  cent.,  subject  to  annual 
composition,  in  lieu  thereof  of  one  and  a  half  per  cent,  on  the 
amount  of  their  annual  dividend;  on  any  bond,  obligation  or 
promissory  note,  discounted  by  any  bank,  company,  or  banker, 
and  on  any  foreign  or  inland  bill  of  exchange',  graduated  duties 
on  their  several  amounts,  varying  from  about  a  rifteen-huiidrcdth 
to  a  t\\  o-lhousandth  part  thereof.  'J'hese  duties  were  collected 
through  the  medium  of  stamps  sold  by  the  collectors,  deducting 
seven  and  a  half  per  cent,  to  purchasers,  to  the  amount  of  ten 
dollars  or  more ;  on  carriages  for  conveyance  of  persons,  every 
coach,  twenty  dollars;  chariot  and  post-chaise,  fourteen  dollars; 
plucton,  and  coachoe  with  panel  work,  teu  dollars ;  other  four 
wheel  carriages,  hanging  on  steel  or  iron  springs,  seven  dollars ; 
every  four-wheel  carriage,  hanging  on  wooden  springs,  and  two 
Avheel  carriage  hanging  on  steel  or  iron  springs,  lour  dollars; 
licenses  to  distillers  of  spirituous  liquors  from  domestic  materials, 
for  employment  of  a  still  for  two  weeks,  nine  cents  per  gallon  of 
its  capacity,  for  one  month,  eighteen  cents,  for  two  months, 
thirty-two  cents,  for  three  months,  forty  cents,  for  four  months, 
fifty-two  cents,  for  six  months,  seventy  cents,  for  a  year,  one 
hundred  and  eight  cents;  one  half  only  of  these  sums  to  be  paid 
on  stills  employetl  wholly  in  the  distillation  of  roots;  for  em- 
ployment of  a  still  on  foreign  materials,  twenty-five  cents  per 
gallon  a  month,  sixty  cents  for  three  months,  one  hundred  and 
five  cents  for  six  months,  one  Inmdred  and  thirty-five  cents  a 
year;  for  every  boiler  double  the  amount  of  these  sums;  these 
.duties  not  exceeding  five  dollars,  to  be  paid  in  cash,  more  than 
five  dollars  to  be  bonded  with  one  or  more  sureties  for  payment 
four  months  after  expiration  of  the  license.  The  acts  relative 
to  direct  taxes  laid  them  agreeably  to  the  assessed  value  of 
the  lands,  dwelling-houses,  improvements  and  slaves,  dividing 


~v;'v>-];,v^;J 


■it ,.  t^^;.  t 

4f  ■'■'■'^■'■;  ■  •.  ■ 


,v*'-; 


*iv.,  -■4i 


1*^.'  fS'»  ''♦  * '  ^'  "  '*  ■ 

af",  .-  ■■,  ■  ■••1:1 
I  ■  1  i .    J"     '  .  <  ■ 


i-i* 


f 


220 


TAXES. 


[JULY,  1813. 


.♦'  '* 


the  United  States  into  one  hundred  and  ninety-nine  collection 
districts,  Avilh  one  principal  collector  and  one  principal  assessor 
tor  each,  to  appoint  as  many  assistants  as  either  saw  lit.  The 
principal  assessor  received  two  dollars  for  every  day  employed 
in  iiearing  appeals  and  making  out  lists,  and  four  dollars  for 
every  lunidred  taxable  persons,  tho  assistant-assessor  one  dol- 
lar and  iil'iy  cents  for  every  day  employed  in  collecting  lists, 
and  making  collections,  and  three  dollars  for  every  liundred 
taxable  persons.  Tho  principal  collector  received  on  direct 
taxes  eight  per  cent,  wiien  the  quota  of  iiis  district  did  not  ex- 
ceed ten  thousand  dollars,  seven  per  cent,  when  between  ten  and 
fifteon  thousand,  six  per  cent,  when  between  fifteen  and  twenty 
thousand,  live  per  cent,  when  between  twenty  and  thirty  thou- 
sand, four  per  cent,  w^en  between  thirty  and  fifty  thousand, 
three  per  cent,  when  above  lifty  lliousand ;  for  collecting  interna! 
duties  the  commission  was  six  per  cent.;  but  no  collector  was 
allowed  more  than  four  thousand  dollars  a  year ;  twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  were  alloted  for  collectors  whose  emoluments 
did  not  exceed  one  thousand  dollars  a  year ;  the  collectors  paid 
their  deputies  out  of  their  emoluments,  but  were  allowed  for 
measuring  stills,  and  for  books,  stationary,  printed  forms,  certifi- 
cates and  other  documents;  six  months  allowed  for  collections, but 
states  were  allowed  deduction  of  fifteen  per  cent,  for  advancing 
their  proportions.  Without  explanation  now  of  the  extraordinary 
causes  and  circumstances  of  it,  I  add  by  anticipation  as  a  fact  in 
this  coimection,  that  on  the  !Hh  of  Jaiuiary,  1S15,  the  direct  tax 
was  increased  from  three  to  six  millions,  and  on  the  5tli  March, 
ISIO,  it  was  imposed  for  the  last  time  for  that  war  to  the  amount 
of  three  millions.  The  duties  on  carriages  were  also  changed  in 
.Tamiary,  1SI5,  from  specific  to  ad  tuiloreni,  occasionally  by  a  radi- 
cal mistake  of  tlie  first  law  in  graduating  the  scale  of  duties,  which 
caused  deficiiMicy  in  tho  revenue.  It  was  an  error  of  the  latter 
law  to  put  the  lowest  rate  at  one  dollar  instead  of  two  ;  also  in 
taking  the  actual  instead  of  the  original  cost  of  the  carriage.  On 
the  21st  Decotnber,  18M,  the  duties  on  stills  were  considerably  in- 
creased; on  the  a.'jd  December  of  that  year,  lifty  per  cent,  was 
added  to  tiie  duties  on  licenses  to  retailers  of  wines,  spirituous 
liquors  and  foreign  merciiandize,  and  one  hundred  per  cent,  to 
the  duties  on  auctions.  On  tlie  15tli  Jaiuiary,  1815,  a  duty  of  one 
dollar  a  ton  was  laid  on  pig  iron,  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  on 
castings,  one  dollar  on  bar  iron,  and  rolled  or  split  iron,  one  cent 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


TAXES. 


221 


a  pound  on  nails,  brads  and  sprigs,  other  than  those  usually 
denominated  wrought,  five  cents  a  pound  on  candles  of  white 
wax  or  in  part  of  white  and  other  wax,  three  cents  a  pound  on 
mould  candles,  or  tallow,  or  wax  not  white,  or  in  part  of  each, 
eight  per  cent,  ad  valorem  on  hats  and  caps,  in  whole  or  part 
of  leather,  wool,  or  fur,  and  bonnets  in  whole  or  part  of  wool  or 
fur,  if  above  two  dollars  in  value,  eight  per  cent,  ad  valorem  on 
umbrellas  and  parasols,  if  above  the  value  of  two  dollars,  on 
paper,  throe  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  fifty  per  cent,  ad  valorem  on 
playing  and  visiting  cards,  six  per  cent,  ad  valorem  on  saddles 
and  bridles,  five  per  cent,  ad  valorem  on  boots  and  bootees  ex- 
ceeding five  dollars  a  pair  in  value,  six  per  cent,  ad  valorem  on 
beer,  ale,  and  porter,  twenty  per  cent,  ad  valorem  on  tobacco, 
manufactured  cigars  and  snuff,  five  per  cent,  ad  valorem  on 
leatlier,  including  all  kinds  and  skins,  whether  tanned,  tawed, 
dressed,  or  otherwise  made,  on  the  original  manufacture  ;  these 
duties,  payable  by  the  owner  or  occupier  of  the  building  or  vessel 
in  which,  or  of  the  machine,  implements  or  utensils  where- 
with the  articles  were  manufactured,  or  by  the  agent  or  repre- 
sentative thereof;  bonds  given  for  a  regular  accountability  upon 
license  to  employ  the  building,  &c.,  for  a  term  not  exceeding  a 
year.  On  the  ISth  January,  1815,  duties  were  laid  of  two 
dollars  on  every  gold  watch,  and  one  dollar  on  every  silver 
watch  in  use  per  annum  ;  on  household  furniture  used,  except 
beds,  bedding,  kitchen  furniture,  family  (lictures,  and  articles 
made  in  the  family  from  domestic  materials,  not  exceeding  two 
hundred  dollars,  whose  value  did  not  exceed  four  hundred  dollars, 
one  dollar,  and  graduated  up  to  exceeding  seven  thousand  dollars 
when  the  maximum  tax  was  one  hundred  dollars.  On  the  27th 
February,  1815,  a  duty  was  laid  of  six  per  cent,  ad  valorem,  on  all 
gold,  silver  and  plated  ware,  jewelry  and  pastework,  except  time 
pieces  manufactured  within  the  United  States.  These  additions 
of  1814  and  1815  were  made  after  Dallas's  accession  to  the 
treasury,  on  the  retirement  of  Campbell  in  October,  1814,  as 
will  be  circumstantially  noticed  at  that  time.  The  last  one  took 
place  after  peace,  tidings  of  which  reached  Washington  the  15th 
February,  1815,  one  of  the  last  acts  of  the  thirteenth  Congress, 
on  the  .Sd  March  1815,  intended  to  fix  the  compensations  of  col- 
lectors, and  increase  their  responsibility,  as  suggested  by  the  com- 

19* 


222 


TAXES. 


[JULY,  1813. 


'■^1 


rr^A  -■■■  '  ^'^■ 


':4.* 


missioncr  of  the  rcv^cmic  ;  roqnirins:  each  collector,  under  penal- 
ties, varying  i'l'oni  lonr  hundied  dollars  to  ten  thousand  dollars, 
within  ninety  days  iVom  the  end  of  every  year,  to  draw  out  state- 
ments exhibiiins  alphabetically  the  names  of  all  persons  having 
paid  any  internal  duties  during  the  preceding  year,  with  their 
aggregate  amount  annexed  to  each  name,  and  forthwith  cause 
one  hunded  copies  thereof  to  be  printed,  transmit  one  of  tliein  to 
the  Commissioner  of  the  Revemie,  lodge  one  with  the  principal 
assessor,  one   with  the  cleric  of  each  town,  county  and  district 
within  his  collection  district,  post  up  one  copy  at  each  of  the 
court-iiouses  in  his  district,  and  the  other  copies  at  the  remjining 
public  places  therein.     This  check  on  abuse  was  suggested  to 
correct  the  extreme  liability  to  abuse,  to  which  the  laws  as  enact- 
ed were  liable;  and  being  faithfully  complied  with,  produced, 
perfect  accountability  as  to  the  sums  collected,  removing  one  of 
the  greatest  objections  to  a  system  of  internal  taxation.     Such 
publicity  in  the  collection  of  impost  by  the  United  States,  and  of 
taxes  by  the  States,  might  iiave  similar  benefits.     But  is  it  not 
severe  and  odious  policy  thus  to  expose  every  one's  property  to 
common  animadversion,  envy  and  misrepresentation  ?     It  cer- 
tainly would  be  an  important  item  of  statistics;  exposing,  how- 
ever, the  property  of  the  rich  to  the  poor,  and  the  want  of  it  by 
the  poor  to  the  rich,  so  as  to  foment  the  feeling  always  snllicicntly 
acrid  of  the  one  class  to  the  other. 

Taxation  is  dillicult  and  detestable,  rccpiiring  war  to  introduce 
it,  and  itself  a  kind  of  war  on  the  community,  especially  in- 
tolerable where  the  sovereignty  is  popular,  and  frequent  elec- 
tions render  representatives  fearful  of  burthening  a  formidable 
constituency,  who  are,  however,  mostly  more  willing  to  be  taxed 
than  their  representative  to  vote  taxes.  The  first  American  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury,  Hamilton,  by  whom  it  Avas  organized, 
a  bold  and  enterprising  genius,  yet  reverencing  and  imitating 
Englisli  government,  disturbed  the  outset  and  popularity  of 
Wasshington's  administration,  by  English  excises  imposed  on  a 
poor,  sparse,  and  licentious  population.  Though  Johnson  argued 
against  America,  that  taxation  was  no  tyranny,  yet  he  defined 
excises  in  England,  as  hateful  taxes  levied  on  commodities,  and 
adjudged  not  by  the  common  judges  of  property,  but  wretches 
hired  by  those  to  whom  excise  is  paid.  Mr.  Gallatin,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Treasury,  when  war  was  declared,  was  opposed 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


TAXES. 


223 


to  it,  deprecating  a  trial  of  strengtli,  which  he  did  not  beUeve 
American  institutions  would  bear.  Ho  wa^  the  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  in  Jetferson's  administration,  wiieu  all  the  external 
revenues  were  abolished  ;  and  like  Jederson  and  Franklin,  pro- 
bably considered  any  peace  preferable  to  any  war.  In  1813, 
wlien  war  taxes  came  to  be  enacted,  he  was  gone  on  the  mission 
which  was  to  begin  at  Gottcnburg,  and  etided  at  Ghent,  to  put 
an  end  lo  hostilities  under  the  mediation  of  Russia.  Hecrimi- 
nations  between  the  committee  of  Ways  and  Means,  of  the 
House  of  Representatives  of  the  twelfth  Congress,  and  the  execu- 
tive, censure  and  excuse  each  other  for  the  lapse  of  a  whole  year, 
from  the  beginning  of  war  before  taxes  took  place,  when  the 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was  absent  on  a  foreign  mission.  The 
commissioner  of  the  revenue  was  not  appointed  till  after  the 
tax  bills  became  laws,  on  whom  devolved  the  duties  of  esta- 
blishing, and  beginning  the  collection,  including  the  selection  and 
appointment  of  nearly  two  hundred  collectors,  and  as  many  prin- 
cipal assessors.  Owing  to  such  causes,  the  system  of  taxation 
was  not  as  well  devised  as  it  should  have  been,  being  little  more 
than  that  attempted  at  the  outset  of  the  American  government, 
v.'hieh  lingered  on  till  Jellerson  repealed  the  whole.  The  duties 
repealed  and  revived,  embraced  domestic  spirits,  sinifl',  refined 
sugar,  retailers  of  wines  and  spirituous  liquors,  sales  at  auction, 
carriages  and  stamps,  imposed  between  the  years  1791  and  1798, 
and  repealed  in  1802.  Their  entire  duration  then  was  eleven  years, 
and  the  average  of  the  whole  about  eight.  The  whole  amount 
of  proceeds  realized  by  them  from  payments  into  the  treasury, 
up  lo  the  year  181;:i  inclusive,  was  six  millions,  four  hundred  and 
sixty  thousand  dollars,  yielding  an  average  revenue  of  about  six 
hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year,  for  the  eight  years,  during  which 
they  might  be  considered  in  full  operation.  Their  net  yield  (or  the 
year  1800  did  not  exceed  eight  hundred  thousand  dollars.  Their 
collection  cost  about  twenty  percent.  These  facts  seemed  to  jus- 
tify repealing  the  whole  in  1802,  when  the  impost  income  was 
upwards  of  sixteen  millions  of  dollars,  collected  for  about  five  per 
cent.  The  expenses  of  collection  of  the  revenue  from  customs, 
on  the  average  of  ten  years,  from  1791  to  1800,  both  included, 
was  3.79  percent ;  on  the  ten  years, from  1801  to  1810  inclusive, 
the  average  was  4  19  per  cent ;  the  average  of  the  twenty  years 
from  1791  to  1810  inclusive,  4.04  per  cent.     Although  the  taxes 


V«-'' 


m 


224 


TAXES. 


[JULY,  1813. 


■1  .'■•■'•■I'*  r-'    ■■■ 


%iJb4;r* 


?^  ■-■.■■■ -.■ 


■■t:   -fi 


of  1813  began  under  nnpropitious  circumstances,  their  operation 
was  favourable,  compared  with  tiiat  of  taxes  in  any  other  coun- 
try, and  particularly  with  this,  from  1791  to  ISOO.  With  popu- 
lation scarcely  doubled,  the  taxation  was  three  millions  a  year, 
instead  of  six  hundred  thousand  ;  more  than  six  times  as  much 
as  the  first  year,  and  considerably  increased  afterwards,  showing 
great  improvement  in  the  wealth  of  the  country,  as  also  in  the 
admii.istration  of  the  system  of  internal  revenue.  The  entire 
duration  of  the  taxes  of  1S13  was  four  years;  their  average  dura- 
tion about  three.  Their  entire  net  yield  to  the  treasury  was 
about  sixteen  millions  of  dollars,  averaging  about  five  millions, 
three  hundred  thousand  dollars  a  year.  If  all  the  duties  as  laid 
in  1813  had  been  continued  in  operation,  they  would  liave  yielded 
about  eight  millions  of  dollars  a  year  in  1816,  and  about  twenty 
millions  a  year  by  1810. 

The  principal  causes  of  the  administrative  success  of  the  sys- 
tem of  1813,  were,  first,  the  direct  responsibility  of  all  the  olfi- 
cers  (excepting  deputy  collectors)  to  the  treasury;  secondly,  a 
judicious  and  careful  selection  of  those  ollicers,  many,  perhaps 
most  of  them,  influenced  more  by  zeal  for  the  country  and  the 
war,  than  by  hope  of  gain,  not  being  selected  from  hackneyed 
office  hunters;  thirdly,  their  moderate  compensation  ;  experience 
proving  that  official  duties  of  an  administrative  character  are 
most  faithfully  performed  by  those  moderately  paid  for  them. — 
Moderate  salaries  satisfy  men  taken  from  middle  classes,  whose 
numbers  admit  of  good  selections,  from  working  men  used  to  in- 
dustrious pursuits,  not  apt  to  be  led  astray  by  allurements  of  plea- 
sure, or  ambition.  Fourthly,  the  publicity  required,  obliging  the 
annual  collection,  in  each  collection  district,  of  the  amount 
received  from  every  individual  paying  a  tax ;  lastly,  the  practice 
of  the  commissioner,  of  not  merely  answering  specific  inquiries 
from  his  subordinates  on  doubtful  points,  but  issuing  and  dissemi- 
nating frequent  printed  circulars,  tending  to  establish  a  uniform 
and  improving  system  throughout  the  whole  country. 

To  its  honour  it  may  be  averred  that  never  were  taxes,  espe- 
cially new  ones,  more  promptly  or  cheerfully  paid  :  nearly  the 
whole  amount  accruing  within  the  four  years  being  paid  within 
that  period,  when  the  currency  was  deranged,  without  national 
bank,  or  other  general  regulation,  and  what  was  called  money, 
little  more  than  state  bank  notes,  most  of  which,  during  the  latter 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


TAXES. 


226 


5pe- 
the 
ill  in 
)nal 


part  of  the  war,  were  not  convertible  into  coin,  bnt  more  promises 
to  pay.     Tlie  co.st  of  collection  never  exceeded  six  per  cent. 

Tiie  war  ceasing  early  in  1815,  it  became  a  question  whether 
direct  taxes  and  internal  duties  sliould  be  abolished  or  reduced. 
That  war  cost  a  national  debt  of  about  eighty  millions  of  dollars, 
which,  added  to  prior  debt,  made  more  than  one  hundred  and 
twenty  millions.  The  income  of  1S15,  from  customs,  was  thirty- 
six  millions  of  dollars;  and  there  was  no  doubt  of  revenue  enough 
from  that  source,  to  discliarge  the  current  expenses  of  govern- 
ment, and  pay  the  interest,  gradually  reducing  the  principal  of 
tlie  public  debt.  The  internal  taxes  of  1813,  and  subsequently, 
were  mostly  at  first  limited  in  their  duration  to  one  year  after  the 
termination  of  the  war,  but  afterwards  pledged  for  payment  of 
the  public  debt  of  the  war,  until  Congress  provided  an  adequate 
substitute.  As  the  productiveness  of  the  customs  removed  all 
difliculty  in  this  respect,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  Dallas,  in 
an  elaborate  report  in  December,  1815,  recommended  reducing 
the  direct  tax,  from  six  to  three  millions,  the  reduction  of  some, 
and  abolition  of  other  duties;  but  that  the  duties  on  stamps  and 
refined  sugars  should  be  rendered  permanent,  which  was  accord- 
ingly done  by  act  of  Congress  of  1st  of  February,  1816.  An  act 
was  passed  the  22d  February,  ISlfi,  abolishing  duties  on  articles 
manufactured  in  the  United  States,  which,  having  been  taxed  by 
act  of  the  18tli  April,  1815,  were  subject  to  taxation  for  only  nine 
months.  On  the  5th  of  March,  1810,  the  anmial  direct  tax  of  six 
millions  was  repealed,  and  a  direct  tax  of  three  millions  laid  for 
that  year.  On  the  !)th  April,  181(5,  the  taxes  on  watches  and 
on  household  furniture  were  repealed.  On  the  19th  April,  18 IG, 
the  duties  per  gallon  on  spirits  were  abolished,  and  the  existing 
duties  modified  after  the  .30tn  June  following.  Corresponding 
with  these  reductions,  the  compensation  of  collectors  by  act  of 
the  27th  April,  181fi,  was  fixed  at  six  per  cent,  per  annum, on  all 
moneys  not  exceeding  45 10,000  paid  into  the  treasury,  three  per 
cent,  on  all  between  forty  and  one  nundred  thousand,  and  two 
per  cent,  on  all  above  one  hundred  thousand,  provided  that  no 
collector  should  receive  more  than  vS5,000  a  year. 

The  secretary  suggested  that  the  establishment  of  a  revenue 
system  not  exclusively  dependent  on  foreign  commerce,  claimed 
particular  attention.    The  almost  entire  failur'^  of  the  customs  m 


V   :K.t-  r  • 


ii^i. 


226 


TAXKS. 


[JULY,  1813. 


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war,  and  "iioroasiiii!;  ncccssitios  of  llin  treasury, rendered  it  ik^cps- 
sary  to  sock  for  snp|)lie  in  internal  dnti<.'s,  in  respect  to  subjects, 
and  anioiuit  oC  which  peace  hail  always  been  looked  to  (or  revi- 
sion and  relief.  Pursuant  to  that  policy,  inconvenient  and  unpro- 
ductive t;ixe.s  weri!  repealed,  above  all,  domestic  manufactures 
were  exonerated  from  whatever  niiglit  retard  their  j)rogress. — 
Hut  there  still  remained  sullicient  scope  for  the  operation  of  a 
permanent  system  of  internal  duties  upon  principles  of  national 
policy  which  he  had  sui^gested.  Had  this  suggestion  been  adoi)ted 
by  Congress,  there  would  have  been  alter  the  year  ISIG,  a  ''iCt 
annual  revenue  of  seven  millions  of  dollars,  derived  from  internal 
duties,  and  increasing  with  the  growth  of  the  country.  Tiie  com- 
mittee of  Ways  and  Means,  on  the  f)th  January,  18 IG,  by  their 
chairman,  William  Lowndes,  reported  that  it  was  indispensable  in 
any  arrangement  of  revenue,  and  expenditure  in  peace,  to  provide 
for  the  rapid  extinguishment  of  the  public  debt.  To  no  one  is 
the  Union  more  indebted  than  to  William  Lowndes,  for  this  most 
desirable  and  honourable  consummation.  To  attain  it,  his  report 
proceeded,  a  considerable  revenue  will  be  requisite.  In  selecting 
the  taxes  to  compose  it,  the  duties  upon  im[)orted  articles  might 
furnish  the  principal  supply.  Cheap  and  easy  in  their  collection, 
paid  like  all  indirect  taxes  when  convenient  to  pay  them,  under 
a  system  of  prudent  moderation,  they  would  discourage  no  branch 
of  national  industry.  Duti(!s  on  importation  or  exportation,  seem 
to  be  the  natural  resource  of  thinly  peopled  countries,  which,  ex- 
porting a  largo  amount  of  their  agricultural  productions,  receive 
in  return  the  manufactures  of  other  states,  distance  rendering 
evasion  of  payment  more  difficult  than  among  adjoining  countries. 
But  as  agriculture  finds  markets  at  home,  and  wealth  .spreads 
over  inland  countries,  imports  and  exports  must  bear  a  con- 
stantly lessening  proportion  to  the  wealth  of  the  nation.  Even 
while  the  principal  reliance  is  impost,  it  could  not  be  so  increased 
as  to  provide  for  extinguislimeut  of  the  debt,  and  for  necessary 
expenditures,  without  danger  of  illicit  trade  :  moieovcr,  the  objec- 
tions to  entire  reliance  on  importations  had  been  too  fully  shown 
by  recent  experience,  to  recommend  tlicm  as  constituting  the 
whole  income  of  the  country.  Their  liberal  provision  in  peace 
disappears,  when  war  requires  larger  contributions  ;  when  gov- 
ernment is  left  tr)  explore  new  systems  of  taxation,  to  discover 


■k^'^f 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


TAXKS. 


227 


and  draw  into  public  service  men  capable  of  filling  tlio  difll'rent 
dei)artments  ol"  revenue,  reduced  to  a  condition  in  wiiicli  zeal, 
bravery  and  resoiu'ce  can  but  iniperl'ectly  produce  tlieir  natural 
ed'ecis.  Tlie  cotninillee  of  Way.s  and  Means,  tberefore,  con- 
curred fully  with  tlio  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  approving 
the  cstablislnnent  of  a  revenue  s/steui,  not  entirely  dependent  on 
the  supplies  of  foreign  conuner(o. 

Soon  after  that  session  of  Congress  the  administration  of  Ma- 
dison ceased  by  his  voluntary  retirement,  and  James  Monroe 
was  elected  i)resident.  In  his  first  annual  message,  Decem- 
ber, 1817,  estimating  tlie  cusionis  for  the  next  year  at  twenty 
millions,  internal  revenue  at  two  millions  and  a  ball",  pub- 
lic lands  at  one  million  and  a  half,  bank  dividends  and  other 
incidental  receipts  at  half  a  million,  allogellier  twenty-four 
nnllions  and  a  hall',  he  considered  it  !i;s  duty  to  recommend 
the  repeal  of  the  internal  duties;  it  appearing  in  a  satisfac- 
tory manner,,  said  the  mcssnge,  that  the  revenue  arising  from 
imposts  and  tonnage,  and  from  the  sale  of  the  public  lands 
would  be  fully  adequate  to  the  support  of  the  civil  govern- 
ment, of  the  present  military  and  naval  establishments,  includ- 
ing the  annual  augmentation  of  the  latter  to  the  extent  pro- 
vided lor,  to  the  j):iyment  of  the  interest  on  the  public  debt, 
and  extinguishment  of  it  at  the  times  authorized,  without  the 
aid  of  the  internal  taxes.  To  impose  taxes  when  the  public 
exigencies  require  them,  the  president  pronounced  an  obligation 
of  the  most  sacred  character,  especially  with  a  free  people.  The 
faithful  fulfilment  of  it  is  among  the  highest  proofs  of  their  virtue 
and  capacity  for  self-government.  To  dispense  with  taxes  when 
it  may  be  done  with  perfect  safety,  is  equally  the  duty  of  their 
representatives.  In  this  instance  we  have  the  satisfaction  to  know, 
he  said,  that  they  were  imposed  when  the  demand  was  imperi- 
ous, and  have  been  sustained  with  exemplary  fidelity.  However 
gratilying  it  may  be,  regarding  the  prosperous  and  happy  condi- 
tion of  our  country,  to  recommend  the  repeal  of  these  taxes  at 
this  time,  the  president  added  that  he  should  nevertheless  be 
attentive  to  events,  and  should  any  future  emergency  occur,  be 
not  less  prompt  to  suggest  such  measures  and  burthens  as  might 
be  requisite  and  proper.  On  the  8ih  December,  1S17,  the  Se- 
cretary of  the  Treasury,  Crawford,  estimated  the  annual  income 


%  '- 


.**■ 


228 


TAXKS. 


[JULY,  1!S13. 


H  4i- 


i 


■I' 


for  IHls  at  twciity-fnnr  rnilliniis  and  a  half,  and  tho  cxponditurc 
at  no*  quite  twenty-two  millions,  leaving  sotuclliing  more  than 
Wo  millions  and  a  lialf  surplus.  Next  day  tlio  committee 
of  Ways  and  Means  lecomnifMided  repealing  all  the  internal 
duties.  William  Lowndes,  chairman  of  that  committee  and 
reporting;  its  opinion,  as  before  mentioned,  during  the  preceding 
Congress,  was  again  chairman  of  it  at  this  time.  The  report  of 
the  committee  gives  tho  amount  accrued  to  government  on 
account  of  internal  duties,  exclusive  of  the  direct  tax,  from  the 
1st  January,  ISM,  to  the  31st  December,  1817,  at  more  than 
seventeen  millions,  and  the  receipts  lor  the  same  time  at  u|)wanU 
of  fifteen  millions,  as  lollows:  isi  t,  accrued,  S;),'3()^%1!'7  12. 
received,  Sl,f)10,9yr)  01;  LSI,'),  accrued,  Sfi,'i  l,;,5():)  53,  received. 
i54,y7(),52*)  Sfi;  1816,  accrued,  vSl,63.3,7J)!)  34,  received,  $5,28\,- 
121  !)S;  1817,  accrued,  i^3,O02,00O  00,  received,  S3,00n,000  00. 
Expenses  of  collection,  in  1814,  Si  is,<>f)l  78;  in  181'),  S27)»,277 
67;  in  1816,  5253,4  10  42  ;  in  1817,  Sl80,000  00— that  is,  7;V 
per  cent,  in  1814  ;  5^\^-  per  cent,  in  1815;  4^V  I'l^i"  cent,  in  1816: 
and  6  per  cent,  in  1817. 

In  their  report,  the  committee,  stating  that  the  charges  of  col- 
lection on  internal  duties  iiave  been  higher  than  o  .  imposts, 
declared  that  the  latter  had  been  very  dilfereiu  at  dill'eient  times, 
Mr.  Gallatin,  in  1810,  estimated  them  at  something  less  than  six 
per  cent,  on  moneys  collected  from  the  people.  Mr.  Dallas  sup- 
posed them,  including  fees,  to  be  about  live  per  cent.,  and  still 
lower  in  the  last  three  years.  The  difference  between  the 
expense  of  collecting  internal  and  foreign  duties  will  not  appear 
extraordinary,  when  we  remember  how  few  are  the  domestic 
products  subject  to  duty,  and  of  foreign  exempt  from  it ;  how 
long  and  regularly  the  impost  has  been  acquiring  maturity,  and 
improvement;  how  frequent  the  changes  and  short  the  duration 
of  the  system  of  internal  revenue.  In  abandoning  that  portion 
of  the  taxes  considered  most  inconvenient,  neither  Congress  nor 
the  nation  would  form  so  exaggerated  a  notion  of  these  incon- 
veniences as  to  deter  them  from  again  applying  to  the  same 
resource  when  the  necessities  of  the  state  shall  require.  It  is  the 
duty  of  Congress  to  provide  revenue  from  such  resources  as  shall 
not  permit  the  fate  of  war  and  the  most  important  interests  of 
the  nation  to  depend  on  precarious  and  often  extravagant  loans. 
The  committee  concluded  that  on  all  future  emergencies,  the 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


TAXES. 


229 


people  will  be  disposed  to  pay  internal  taxes  and  the  House  of 
Representatives  to  impose  them  on  a  scale  suited  to  (he  occasion. 

On  the  23d  December,  1817,  Congress  repealed  the  duties  after 
the  31st  of  that  month,  on  licenses  to  distillers,  refined  sugars, 
licenses  to  retailers,  sales  at  auction,  carriages  and  stamps;  and 
promoted  their  collection  by  further  allowances  to  collectors. 
These  duties  were  in  force  on  refined  sugars,  sales  at  auction, 
carriages,  licenses  to  retailers  and  to  distillers,  and  on  stamps, 
four  years  ;  on  spirits  by  the  gallon,  one  year  and  five  moiuhs  ; 
on  manufactures  about  nine  months  ;  on  watches  and  household 
furniture,  one  year. 

The  annexed  tables  exhibit  many  curious  and  instructive  sta- 
tistical details,  for  which  I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Smith,  the  com- 
missioner of  revciuie.  From  them  may  be  selected  the  following 
important  results.  From  1814  to  1818  inclusive,  the  tax  on  stills 
from  domestic  materials  produced  nearly  ^4,000,000,  and  from 
foreign  materials  not  quite  ^400,000;  on  spirits,  from  domestic 
materials,  upwards  of  §3,000,000,  and  from  foreign  materials 
about  §218,000;  on  carriages  more  than  §650,000;  on  licenses 
to  retailers,  more  than  §3,000,000;  on  sales  at  auction  near 
§2,400,000;  on  stamps,  §1,500,000  ;  on  bank  notes  by  compo- 
sition, upwards  of  s'5400,000 ;  on  household  furniture,  about 
§50,000;  on  watches,  §175,000;  on  refined  sugar,  §392,000; 
on  manufactures,  §991,000.  Of  the  direct  tax,  when  §3,000,000 
per  annum,  the  several  States  paid,  New  Hampshire,  §97,060; 
VermoiU,  §98,000;  Massachusetts,  §318,000;  Rhode  Island, 
§34,000;  Connecticut,  §118,000;  New  York,  §435,000;  New 
Jersey,  §108,000;  Pennsylvania,  §365,000;  Delaware,  §32,000; 
Maryland,  §152,000 ;  Virginia,  §369,000  ;  North  Carolina,  §220,- 
000;  South  Carolina,  §151,000;  Georgia,  §94,000;  Kentucky, 
§168,009;  Tennessee,  §111,000;  Ohio,  §104  000,  and  Louisiana, 
§31,000.  These  sums  are  given  without  the  fractions,  which  in 
every  instance  somewhat  increase  the  amount.  The  total  was, 
in  1813,  something  more  than  §3,000,000,  and  in  1815  above 
§6,000,000.  In  1816  it  was  again  §3,000,000.  According  to  the 
acts  of  Congress,  any  state  paying  its  contingent  into  the  trea- 
sury at  designated  times,  was  entitled  to  a  deduction  of  fifteen  per 
cent.,  which  South  Carolina  and  Ohio  received  each  of  the  three 
years  by  advancing  their  respective  quotas.  New  Jersey,  Penn- 
sylvania, Virginia  and  Kentucky  in   1813,  and  New  York  in 

VOL.  I.— 20 


'  ■  ^■'■f- 


:  :»■;  :■ 


230 


TAXKS. 


[JULY,  1813. 


1815.  Georgia  was  allowed  ten  per  cent,  in  1815.  There  were 
errors  of  assessment  allowed  i536,28l  17,  and  persons  insolvent, 
Sl7,a'25  'IJ.  The  whole  direct  tax  for  three  years  exceeded 
i5l8,0OO,000;  of  which  states  advanced  more  than  S3,700,000, 
leaving  upwards  of  {58,300,000  to  be  collected.  Individuals  paid 
these  taxes  without  delay  or  hesitation,  to  the  amount  of  near 
S8,000,000,  leaving  but  about  4?400,000  in  arrcar,  of  which  a 
large  portion  consisted  of  taxes  on  lands  purchast^d  by  the  United 
States  in  consequence  of  not  selling  for  the  amount  of  taxes,  and 
of  small  taxes  which  did  not  equal  the  extraordinary  expenses 
of  sale.  More  than  JS  10,700,000  were  paid  into  the  treasury  in 
1813,  '14,  '15,  '16,  '17  and  18,  and  from  1818  to  1830,  about 
v»2 10,000.  Tlie  deductions  for  the  advancing  states  exceeded 
^533,000.  The  expenses  of  collection  exceeded  i5473,000.  And 
the  loss  by  non-payments  fell  short  of  S100,000.  The  expenses 
of  collection  were  about  §76,000  in  1814,  about  i!?51,000  in  1815, 
about  4>i>0 1,000  in  1816,  about  i5 1 2 5,000  in  1817,and  about  S21,- 
000  in  1818;  ahogether  j>473,116  34:  which  on  557,932,864  29 
collected  by  collectors  in  those  years,  is  about  six  per  cent. 

In  some  later  treasury  statements,  especially  that  of  17th  June, 
1831,  pursuant  to  a  call  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of 
29th  May,  1830,  the  duties  derived  from  spirits  are  erroneously 
charged  to  licenses  for  stills,  and  the  deductions  from  the  direct 
tax  for  prompt  payments,  are  not  only  included  in  the  expenses 
of  collection,  but  charged  as  compensation  paid  to  collectors. 
The  collectors  had  nothing  to  do  with  those  payments  by  the 
states.  Such  mistakes,  therefore,  lead  to  extremely  erroneous 
conclusions  as  to  the  cost  of  collections. 


I' - '/'  '•■      '  '! 


"^i^: 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


TAX    TABLES. 


231 


=0 

1.. 

So 

4J 


s 


li  ^ 

E  i 

fri    ?|'-:?,3    ?.!:';  =  =a5rTri          i 

.ft 

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2 

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r  —  ■T  ?i  7>  ?:  Ti  ©  *■«  -T  «•>.  -c  /.  i-?  7  *^  r>.  /  *^      -r  '-7  rs 

'-•■''-"i?l:«.2i"':?  =  r;37i5i2 

1} 

c 

1— 1 

1)    k, 

.S3 

S::    S33S                   P:    8 

S 

1 
S 

SB 

IS 
5  s 

{ -5r:'--?;??s!g  =  i',32t:25£isz  5  =  /, 

/  rr  5i  =  7  .~  c  c  ?i  n  i~  rf  <  T  j  •?)  i-.  —  ti     ^^  -.i  C5 

.5 
i~ 

S^i   s   ^   <=;      S        8   8 
Si!  i  ^  s     "       1  § 

3 

11 

<23 

•)'  '-I  a  i, !;  ?  2  S  !;;  /,  'J  i.  =  (;  =  =■ ."-'  =  ':?     ,'  H  •.'  =; 

J;  i  -  V  5  2  fe  7  «  ir  ~  ^  1  •.  Fi  '^  S  5  5l  n  -3       P?  =  T  Vl 
ro  r:  -:  *'  =  o  -f'  ;'» •r  c  -r  <-:  i*?  —  -c  **  c^  i'^          C'i  ri  -4 
ci  :o      i!5  J]  lO  i^      2  ^  V  i>  M|  X  1-  JI 

New  Hampshire 

Massachusetts 

Vermont 

Rhode  Island 

Connecticut 

New  ^ork 

New  .lersey 

Pennsylvania 

D»-laware 

iVlaryland 

Virginia 

North  Carolina 

Ohio 

Kentucky 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

Georgia 

I/>u>Siana 

Illinois  Territory 

Michigan 

Indiana          " 

.Missouri        •' 

.Mississippi    ■' 

District  ot'  Columbia 

■fk-' 


232 


TAX    TABLES. 


[JULY,  1813. 


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(^  T  -c      2»  ■?'  —  -  't  '^  'i  I'  '^  ^.  1^  y:  71 1^  — 
n-T^     4"- '-  2;  a  r>  *'  ■?  i'  ti  i  =  i-i  i  '»  3 

Pi 

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3 

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^ 

CHAP,  vni.] 


TAX    TABLES. 


233 


o3 

1 

1 

1-1 

S 

3 

p''??2SI:    ''cS®      3    "" 

/J 

3 

■?'  '2  Li.  ~.  —  '*  —  •'•  *  cw*  s:  71  to  !■*  i-^  t;  —  rt  r:  r  1^  —  " 

% 

/j 

7* 

1 

1 

?;  Ct  o  o  —  b.  X  71  c  *•*  --  'r  71  Ci  *^  t!5  f-*  K  -T  c  i.-^  —  c  / 
d  ?j  ;r  7*  71  :o  /-  -r  Ci  =  C  —  ic  1-  o  e  *^  i.-:  n  ;=  7)  25  «  -c 

c  c  /-  r.  /  •f  o  Tf  '^  7>  /  7)  s  3!  w  o  "O  ?7  -^  7j  /,  — '  o  r: 

5  r;^  o  rr  (^  5  ■?*  *»  -3  /-  -r  '    ^  "9  5  T  >T  -f  ■?)  -^^      r:  /  — 

Tiioi-t     oj  ^-.j-;  C7r:  /- I*      oiU      ^  ^~                     ^ 

3 

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5 

V 

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s 
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—  /  7>  -fj  —  —  di  yj  /  t^  It  e:  -<  T  (^  ic  -t  ?5  M  7*          *i  — 
7^  —  ■-  «^  rt  (^  1  ^  c  '.7  =  i-  7*  o  w  —  c:  "T                        :-5 

C7-1*-H        C  1- 1»  X  71^  i'^'T             ^        ^ 

to 

IT 

t. 

a 
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3 

a 

o  c  71  ^  T  —  5(  T  7»  i^  T  T  «  (-  o  5m*  /  i  5  5  c  2  7t 

t     y 

3 

=;  3 1,-,  a  '-'  2  ^'  i :::  -^  f;  s  S  £  »  3 !;  '5  £  -  •*  '   '  3 
'■M  ii  *!  i)  ?i  ^  o  7  y.  H  £  i?  •=■  ^  '^  ?>  2  ^                 S 

c^  •'r  .H  1.^  o  :c  -^r  i-^  w  ic  -if-  wS'         TT      T  j 

*2 
i* 

STATES  OR  TERRI- 
TORIES. 

2                                                     t             1 

S  S  e-5  =  S  'S  S  S  C'&f  .9  §5  =  t'l  £^  =;  J  ;;;  5 

M--fV.i, 


:■-^ 


20* 


i«-' 


1  1 


."■■>'■ 


III  'r :  ■ 
MM. 


234  TAX    TABLES,  [JULY,  1813. 

Internal  Duties  ivhich  accrued  on  Licenses  to  Retailers. 


STATfiS  OR  TERRI- 

TORIES. 

In  1814. 

1815. 

1816. 

1817. 

1818. 

New  Hampshire 

18,449  00 

24,535  64 

20,316  53 

15,473  93 

292  96 

Massachusetts 

S6,»ll    12 

113,906  95  107,507  92 

81,134  71 

2,042  65 

Vermont 

14,417  00 

22,337  54 

16,519  27 

12,888  43 

103  59 

Rhode  Island 

16,058  00 

10,093  53 

11,408  78 

13,311  87 

76  64 

Connecticut 

32,820  26 

42,616  04 

36,104  29 

24,918  40 

24  93 

New  York 

174,748  76 

201,757  84  173,192  37 

128,522  49 

430  16 

Now  Jersey 

29,701  00 

35,607  87 

32,611  75 

20,877  85 

136  91 

Pennsylvania 

160,939  21 

153,018  84  139,035  73 

101,732  44 

629  99 

Delaware 

10,102  88 

8,093  12 

10,863  56 

4,978  95 

Maryland 

49,256  20 

58,747  36 

50,348  09 

37,923  94 

45 

Virginia 

62,038  6S 

69,620  64 

58,603  16 

47,961  82 

198  81 

North  Carolina 

23,985  00 

32,967  98 

28,221  83 

21,121   17 

116  27 

Ohio 

20,574  00 

26,923  23 

23,394  59 

21,213   17 

22«  77 

Kentucky 

19,2.55  00 

23,789  71 

20,141  62 

19,757  84 

403  21 

South  Carolina 

26,599  00 

28,142  91 

25,316  11 

21,757  19 

144  14 

Tennessee 

10,462  00 

13,280  54 

9,499  92 

9,506  00 

Georgia 

13,908  00 

24,454  33 

14,039  49 

16,450  38 

142  46 

Louisiana 

7,497  00 

9,773  09 

11,821  27 

8,998  75 

60  00 

Illinois  Territory 

1,115  00 

1,248  80 

776  95 

1,090  00 

115  00 

Michigan     " 

1,405  00 

1,817  10 

1,694  13 

2,150  00 

Indiana        " 

2,191  00 

3,139  59 

1,860  00 

1,920  00 

Missouri      " 

1,540  00 

1,861  46 

1,981  75 

1,383  75 

Mississippi  " 

3,692  00 

4,837  74 

5,499  42 

4,940  25 

j       200  00 

District  of  Columbia 

10,140  00 

14,b72  62 

11,888  64 

10,113  48 

i 

786,005  11 

927,444  47 

812,647  17 

630,126  81 

.   6,336  84 

Internal  Duties  which 

I  accrued 

on  Sales  at  Auction 

. 

STATES  OR  TERRI- 

TORIES. 

In  1814. 

1815. 

1816. 

1817. 

1818. 

New  Hampshire 

776  07 

2,245  79 

1,283  93 

808  96 

Massachusetts 

35,359  04 

87,643  63 

95,708  94 

58,704  30 

14,298  09 

Vermont 

14  25 

75  20 

106  42 

69  .?5 

Rhode  Island 

6,274  82 

452  01 

2,640  44 

4,497  26 

651  62 

Connecticut 

283  89 

635  55 

322  67 

394  82 

24  74 

New  York 

48,480  35 

332,841  64 

300,510  99 

234,053  26 

1,158  73 

New  Jersey 

3,384  32 

949  84 

448  58 

66  46 

Pennsylvania 

34,630  74 

229,764  45 

160,493  43 

152,895  22 

23,609  59 

Delaware 

116  25 

453  82 

61  73 

61  50 

Maryland 

9,623   15 

102,758  79 

69,407  84 

52,834  3!S 

Virginia 

4,079  37 

20,003  64 

20,996  12 

?S,475  38 

8,758  39 

North  Carolina 

1,237  62 

3,734  47 

4,844  26 

2,!>!3  73 

49  12 

Ohio 

549  31 

636  22 

1,014  90 

2,363  33 

922  86 

Kentucky 

.:~'^  92 

1,371  29 

813  53 

1,600  56 

1,370  77 

South  Carolina 

2,631   39 

18,401  94 

30,203  26 

20,049  42 

46  97 

Tennessee 

63  31 

291  06 

287  77 

641  34 

55  09 

Oeorgia 

1,346  34 

4,133  92 

7,052  03 

6,626  41 

786  19 

Louisiana 

4,83i?  24 

13,504  09 

23,217  92 

27,092  10 

6,772  13 

Illinois  Territory 

Michigan     " 

80  04 

71  05 

39  69 

140  )S 

Indiana       " 

6  44 

47  34 

Missouri      " 

188  66 

Mississippi  " 

210  13 

750  47 

1,0.53  58 

1,690  72 

392  20 

District  of  Columbia 

385  65 

4,413  96 

8,601  07 

6,118  67 

1,473  27 

154,629  20 

825,132  S3 

729,109  00 

602,093  95 

60,317  10 

CHAP.  VIII.] 


TAX    TABLES. 


235 


Internal  Duties  which  accrued  on  Refined  Sugar. 


STATES  OR  TERRI- 

TORIKS. 

In  1814. 

1815. 

1816. 

1817. 

1818. 

New  Hampshire 

Massachusetts 

3,542  36 

4,394  17 

15,182  74 

18,445  45 

4,244  93 

Vermont 

Rhode  Island 

238  75 

672  39 

235  74 

Connecticut 

Now  York 

7,468  12 

40,279  60 

57,065  07 

60,180  25 

New  Jersey 

22  38 

Pennsylvania 

157  03 

6,127  41 

33,634  65 

39,237  90 

7,686  99 

Delaware 

Maryland 

18.619  48 

27,024  48 

24,640  27 

Virginia 

23  40 

980  32 

1,900  29 

1,556  28 

North  Carolina 

Ohio 

406  42 

1,419  95 

Kentucky 

South  Carolina 

Tennessee 

(Jeorgia 

Louisiana 

479  00 

408  05 

164  66 

147  01 

90  17 

Illinois  Territory 

Michigan     " 

Indiana        << 

Missouri      " 

Mississippi  <' 

District  of  Columbia 

4,413  96 

5,695  .50 

4,606  28 

740  63 

11,669  91 

75,223  08 

141,334  94 

150,905  78  12,998  46 

»     -i  ■  . 


■■IV  'f' 


i^;i: 


236 


TAX    TABLES, 


[JULY,  1813. 


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CHAP.  VIII.]  TAX    TABLES.  237 

Internal  Duties  ivhich  accrued  on  Household  Furniture. 


STATES  OR  TERRITORIES, 

In  1815. 

In  1816. 

In  1817. 

Now  Hampshire 

376  00 

25  50 

Massachusetts 

677  50 

2,778  50 

2  00 

Vermont 

211  50 

3  00 

Rliode  Island 

7S2  50 

Connecticut 

807  00 

153  00 

New  York 

10,877  00 

66  50 

New  Jersey 

1,527  50 

287  50 

6  00 

Pennsylvania 

11,364  00 

Delaware 

434  50 

Maryland 

680  50 

4,278  00 

Virginia 

168  50 

6,013  00 

North  Carolina 

1,387  50 

Ohio 

104  50 

276  00 

Kentucky 

72  00 

South  Carolina 

2,854  50 

611  00 

Tennessee 

179  00 

31  00 

Georgia 

1,050  00 

1,493  50 

Louisiana 

368  00 

Illinois  Territory 

Michigan       " 

Indiana          " 

Missouri       " 

76  50 

Mississippi    " 

194  CO 

District  of  Columbia 

1,174  00 

Total 

21,625  50 

29,560  00 

115  50 

Internal  Duties  which  accrued  on  Gold  and  Silver  Watches. 


STATES  OR  TERRITORIES. 

1 

In  1815. 

In  1816. 

In  1817. 

New  Hampshire 

3,377  00 

718  00 

Massachusetts 

4,385  50 

12,738  00 

250  00 

Vermont 

2,766  00 

142  00 

Rhode  Island 

2,876  00 

Connecticut 

5,457  00 

1.165  00 

New  York 

30,449  50 

1,100  50 

4  00 

New  Jersey 

7,784  00 

1,060  00 

85  00 

Pennsylvania 

38,709  50 

345  50 

Delaware 

2,943  00 

Maryland 

2,408  00 

12,020  00 

Virginia 

33  00 

14,243  00 

North  Carolina 

4,685  50 

Ohio 

3,104  00 

1,114  00 

Kentucky 

543  00 

South  Carolina 

5,380  00 

1,230  00 

Tennessee 

252  50 

2,005  00 

169  00 

(Jeorgia 

2,472  00 

5,755  00 

Louisiana 

1,349  00 

Illinois  Territory 

126  00 

Michigan      "                 .. 

72  00 

Indiana         " 

Missouri        " 

156  00 

Mississippi    " 

473  00 

District  of  Columbia 

1,636  00 

Total 

75,322  50 

99,148  60 

1,009  50 

^'  :y%: 


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238 


TAX    TABLES. 


[JULY,  1813. 


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Internal  Duties  which  accrued  on  sundri)  articles  manufactured  in 

the  United  States. 


STATKS  OR  TERRI- 

In  1815. 

In  1810. 

In  1S17. 

In  1S18. 

TORIES. 

New  Ilnmpshire 

4,540  70 

2,480  07 

M:issiichusett3 

50,784  89 

31,209  40 

670  25 

112  47 

Vermont 

9,250  40 

2,408  39 

10  05 

Rhode  Island 

910  00 

543  78 

79  48 

10  51 

Connecticut 

20.504  SO 

4,241  53 

New  York 

157,170  79 

38,093  33 

58  35 

New  Jersey 

28,540  87 

7,032  81 

Pennsylvania 

228,188  88 

41,370  28 

207  08 

Delaware 

10,803  31 

1,090  47 

Maryland 

70,740  17 

10,997  89 

23  04 

Virginia 

88,154  31 

19,272  54 

17  60 

North  Carolina 

12,801  23 

4,518  92 

1  33 

Ohio 

23,270  00 

5,010  34 

Kentucky 

33,184  40 

7,080  12 

South  Carolina 

10,150  58 

2,070  53 

Tennessee 

15,373  43 

2,450  17 

Georgia 

8,993  25 

2,019  24 

Louisiana 

1,283  03 

1,192  05 

Illinois  Territory 

220  14 

103  23 

Michigan      " 

39  40 

19  08 

Indiana         " 

1,004  44 

132  00 

Missouri        " 

102  08 

282  AS 

Mississippi    " 

1,158  01 

2,350  84 

0  50 

District  of  Columbia 

10,309  97 

2,447  98 

Total 

793,025  00 

190,30  .  59 

970  19 

133  03 

CHAP.  VIIL] 


TAX    Tj.BLES. 


239 


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240 


TAX    TAIILES. 


[JULY,  1813. 


Direct  Taxes. 
3,000,000  dollars  imposed  on  the  several  states  on  the  2d  of 
August,  181;?. 

6,000,000  dollars,  January  9,  1815. 

.'J,000,000      "        March  5,  1816. 

Tlicse  taxes  were  assessed  to  the  respective  states  as  follows: 


Tax  of  Aug.  3, 

Tax  of  Jan.  9, 

Tax  of  March  6, 

STATES, 

1813. 

1815. 

1816. 

Nesv  Hampshire 

97,049  21 

193,755  99 

97,178  54 

Vermont 

98,534  52 

196,789  29 

98,411    16 

MassachuscttR 

318,154  84 

632,065  00 

317,059  39 

Rhode  Island 

34,758  86 

69,431  78 

34,761  83 

Connecticut 

118,533  63 

236,.507  38 

118,401   OS 

New  York 

435,028  35 

860,283  24 

430,141  62 

New  Jersey 

108,871   83 

218,252  77 

109,921  90 

Pennsylvania 

365,479  16 

733,941  09 

374,336  02 

Delaware 

32,294  76 

63,847  32 

32,229  30 

Maryland 

152,327  64 

306,708  81 

153,:i81  42 

Virginia 

369,018  44 

739,738  06 

370,728  SO 

North  Carolina 

220,962  98 

440,321   11 

225,240  57 

South  Carolina 

L:>  1,905  48 

303,810  96 

151,905  48 

Georgia 

94,936  49 

189,872  98 

91,936  49 

Kentucky 

168,928  76 

341,316  24 

173,455  01 

Tennessee 

111,0.39  59 

221,667  44 

110,239  38 

Ohio 

104,150  14 

208,300  28 

104,150   14 

Louisiana 

31,621  43 

67,619  22 

29,8.52  43 

District  of  Columbia 

20,605  86 

10,297  84 

Total 

3,013,596  11 

6,034,634  82 

3,036,628  42 

Agreeably  to  the  ''cts  imposing  these  taxes,  any  state  that  puid 
its  quot .  into  the  treasury  at  designated  times  was  entitled  to  a 
deduction  of  10  or  15  per  centum  thereon.  Such  payments  were 
made  by  the  following  states. 


STATES. 

Tax  of  1814. 

Tax  of  1815. 

Tax  of  1816. 

Total. 

New  York 
New  Jersey 
Pennsylvania 
Virginia 
South  Carolina 
Georgia 
Kentucky 
Ohio 

108,871  83 
365  479  16 
369,018  44 
151,905  48 
94,936  49 
168,928  76 
104,150  14 

860,283  24 

303,810  96 
189,872  98* 

208,300  28 

430,141  62 

151,906  48 
94,936  49* 

104,1.50  14 

1,363,290  30 

1,562,267  46 

781,133  73 

3,706,691  49 

•  Deduction  of  15  per  cent,  except  in  case  of  Georgia,  - 
which  wa.s  allowed  only  10  per  cent,  on  tax  of  1815,  and 
paid  her  whole  tax  of  1815.    Paid  into  the  treasury  by 
these  stales       


533,269  GO 


3,274,431  89 


i'v*- 


CHAP.  yVL] 


TAX    TABLES. 


S41 


The  total  amount  of  taxes  were — 

In  181.3  -  ».'3,01.S,59fi  11 

In  1815  -     r),034,«).34  83 

In  1816  -     3,036,628  42 


Exceo  ]  ng  those  laid  about  ^55,000. 

Deduct  eiTors  of  assessment  al- 
lowed by  treasury      -  -       ^25,284  17 

Deduct  insolvencies  of  individu- 

-ds  taxed        ...  17,225  43 


812,084,859  35 


42,509  60 


And  if  there  be  deducted  the  quotas  paid  by  the 
states,  as  above         .  .  - 


§12,042,349   75 


3,706,691  49 


There  remained  to  be  collected  by  the  collectors    §8,335,058  26 
These  taxes  appear  to  have  been  paid  by  individuals  with 
great  promptness,  and  to  have  been  accounted  for  by  the  collec- 
tors with  general  fidelity. 
The  payments  by  individuals  were — 

In  1814         -       §1,258,871   55 

In  1815         -  833,111  41 

In  1816         -         3,768,545  02 

In  1817         -         1,839,447  86 

In  1818  -  232,888  45 


§7,932,864  29 
Which,  deducted  from  the  above  amount  of      -    §8,335,658  26 


Leaves  balance  of  taxes  remaining  due  Decem- 
ber, 1818  .....  §402,793  97 
A  large  portion  of  which  consisted  of  taxes  on  lands  which 
were  purchased  by  the  United  States  in  consequence  of  not 
selling  for  the  amount  of  taxes,  and  of  small  taxes,  which  did 
not  equal  the  extraordinary  expenses  of  sale. 
During  the  above  years  there  were  paid  into  the  treasury  by  the 
states  and  collectors   ....  §10,723,968  28 


And  from  1818  to 


VOL.  I. — 21 


209,768  42 
§10,938,736  70 


..•» 


^1f^:;^,:, 


I'-eT  ■■  (       -    i 


■•-".', 


trm 


'fiwri 


-i.T.:.:' 


242 


TAX    TAULliS. 


To  wiiicli,  if  there  be  added  the  amount  de- 

diictud  (Voui  llie  payments  by  the  states 
And  the  expenses  of  collection,  as  stated  below, 
Leaves  unpaid  into  the  treasury  only    - 

The  expenses  of  collection  were  as  follows — 


[OCT.,  1813. 

.'532,209   (iO 

47:},11()  M 

98,227  11 

jlil2,014,319  75 


In  1814 
In  1815 
In  \8\G 
In  1S17 
In  1818 


S75,996  53 

50,()()5  19 

200,765  (i6 

124,911  73 

20,777  23 


S473,110   34 

Which  is  about  six  per  centum  on  S7,932,8()'^  29  collected  by 

the  collectors  in  tliose  years. 

From  these  statements  it  appears  that — 

The  accruing  duties  amounted  to  -  -4517,311,183  15 

Being  on  account  of  refined  sugar,  sales  at  auc- 
tion, carriages,  retailers,  stamps,  and  licenses 
to  distillers,  for  four  years ;  on  distilled  spirits 
for  one  year  and  five  months ;  on  manufac- 
tured articles,  nine  months;  and  on  watches 
and  household  furniture,  one  year.    It  appears 

■  from  treasury  statements  that  of  these  duties 
there  were  refunded  in  the  years  1814,  1815, 
1816,  and  1817  -  -3438,48169 

And  debentures  paid  on  spirits  and 

-       57,947  20 

496,428  19 


refined  sugar 


§16,814,754  96 

The  duties  refunded,  consisting  principally  of  payments  made 
for  duties  beyond  the  period  of  the  repealing  acts. 

That  the  sums  received  by  the  collectors  amount- 
ed, in  the  above  years,  to      - 

That  the  moneys  drawn  into  the  treasury  in  the 
five  years  1814,  1815,  1816,  1817,  1818,  by 
warrants,  amounted  to  -  -  - 

That  there  has  been  paid  o  the  year  1830,  in- 
clusive .  -  -  .  - 


16,270,846  46 


15,122,848  10 


646,116  75 

{815,786,964  85 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


TAX    TABLES. 


S43 


That  this  amount  is  exclusive  of  the  expenses  of  collection, 

which  were  as  follows  : — 
Commissions  and  allowances  to  collectors  for   the  years  ISM, 


181.5,  1816,  1817,  and  1818    - 
Contingent  expenses,  same  period,    S7fi,yfiO  80 

17,107  80 


Measuring  stills 


vS9.'},.308  72 
Deduct  moiely  of  fines  and  penalties    41,980  40 


S847,.'3f».i  21 


.51,382  .32 


$898,777  53 
Being  about  5^\  per  centum  on  the  amounts  received  by  the 
collectors. 

If  the  collectors'  receipts  and  compensations  be  taken  for  the 
years  1815  and  1810,  wlien  the  system  was  in  the  fullest  opera- 
tion, it  will  be  found  that  the  expenses  of  collections  do  not  quite 
amount  to  five  per  s^entum. 

Although  the  taxes  at  first  laid  were  much  heavier  than  ever 
before  experienced  by  the  American  people,  soon  doubled,  then 
added  to,  and  always  paid  with  remarkable  alacrity,  yet  their 
existence  proved  the  Union's  want  of  statistical  information  easily 
and  cheaply  obtained,  and  of  inestimable  importance,  on  wliicli 
depend  the  best  mode  of  devising  taxes  and  their  productive- 
ness. During  and  after  the  projection  of  some  of  them,  it  was 
necessary,  before  they  could  be  organized,  to  gather  information 
from  the  remotest  parts  of  the  Union,  which  came  alloyed  with, 
the  biases  and  obliquities  of  self-interest.  The  inevitable  conse- 
quences were  erroneous  duties,  and  still  greater  mistakes  as  to 
tiieir  productiveness  ;  sharing  the  incapacity  of  government, 
either  executive  or  legislative,  to  attain  just  results.  The  secre- 
tary of  the  treasury  estimated  the  revenue  from  manufactures 
at  $3,500,000,  which  gave  less  than  $1,000,000;  from  household 
furniture,  at  more  than  $2,000,000,  which  yielded  but  about 
$51,000;  from  watches,  at  $750,000,  when  less  than  $170,000 
was  the  fruit.  Altogether  the  treasury  got  but  about  $1,200,000 
on  what  was  estimated  to  produce  $0,500,000;  deficit  signalizing 
that  the  means  of  ascertainment,  arrangement,  and  execution 
were  extremely  imperfect.    No  tax  can  be  imposed  which  will 


::S» 


■/»'■ 


■^■^ 


it-'': 


244 


STATISTICS. 


[OCT.,  1813. 


not  aflbct  agriculture,  commerce,  or  mauufactures,  directly  or 
iiulircctly ;  and  tliey  should,  as  Car  as  possible,  l)c  impartially 
and  beni^nantly  distributed  anionu;  these  elements  ol'  national 
wealth;  lor  which  the  best,  most  extensive,  and  particular  in- 
formation should  be  obtained,  and  systematically  embodied  at 
the  seat  of  general  government ;  which  has  never  been  done, 
hardly  attempted.  Is  it  the  infirmity  of  free  and  confederate 
states  to  neglect  such  lessons,  till  taught  by  adversity  and 
distress?  Mr.  Smith,  the  commissioner  of  the  revenue,  thought 
that  tlierc  should  bo  a  department  or  board  charged  with  this 
supervision.  Young  members  of  Congress  at  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment, with  mostly  little  knowledge  beyond  rudiments  of  law,  enact 
lawsc  ten  based  on  erroneous  information,  involving  national  in- 
terests, including  expenses  of  millions  which  might  be  saved  by 
a  few  thousands  of  provident  economy.  The  expense  of  internal 
duties  has  been  a  fruitful  theme  of  animadversion  and  mistake 
assumed  as  one  of  the  strongest  objections  to  the  system.  The 
duties  of  1791  and  thereafter  cost  enormously  owing  to  the 
smallness  of  the  whole  amount  and  administrative  inexperience. 
Hamilton,  though  a  master  mind,  was  inexperienced.  Tlie  col- 
lection of  six  hundred  thousand  dollars  from  territories  so  wide- 
spread and  poor,  was  hardly  possible  without  great  charges  or 
frauds.  Tlie  two  insurrections  which  broke  out  iu  Pennsyl- 
vania in  1794  and  1798,  and  required  military  force  to  extinguish 
their  resistance  to  the  whisky  taxes,  are  not  taken  into  account 
in  reckoning  their  expenses  which  they  largely  increased. 

On  the  13th  December,  1817,  when  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee of  Ways  and  Means,  pursuant  to  the  president's  recom- 
mendation for  the  repeal  of  the  internal  duties,  came  for  con- 
sideration before  the  House  of  Representatives,  the  measure 
was  strenuously  opposed  by  Joseph  llopkinson  and  Henry 
Baldwin,  the  former  of  whom  contended  that  revenue  would 
be  wanted  which  it  was  impolitic  to  discard,  on  general  prin- 
ciples, and  the  latter  undertook  to  show  that  it  would  cause 
an  early  deficiency  of  revenue,  besides  proving  injurious  other- 
wise, however  popular  it  might  momentarily  be.  Mr.  Hopkin- 
son  did  not  believe  in  perpetual  peace,  or  overflowing  treasuries. 
"  Besides,"  said  he,  "  if  we  have  really  too  much  money,  why 
not  remove  the  impost  from  salt,  reduce  the  tonnage,  the  duties 


Ktli^* ' 


CHAP.  VIII. 


TAXKS     RKPIIALKr). 


246 


on  su2;ar,  cofTco,  toa,  and  otiior  articles,  no  lont^or  luxnrios,  but 
necessaries  of  l'<'',  for  the  poor  as  well  as  tlic  ricli  ?"  He  feared 
Congress  wcro  treading  the  dovvniiill  course  to  lead  again  to 
slaughter.  Mr.  Baldwin  reminded  the  House  of  the  facts  that  these 
taxes  were  not  laid  till  the  third  session  after  war  was  declared, 
and  before  tlieir  proceeds  got  into  the  treasury  the  stock  of  the 
government  had  been  hawked  about  to  any  bidder,  and  tho 
government  had  become  the  prey  of  every  shark  and  usurer  in 
the  stock  alleys.  He  was  unwilling  to  trust  the  assurance  of 
tho  committee  that  the  tax  would  be  laid  again  whenever  neces- 
sary. Ho  believed  that  the  repeal  would  be  unpopular;  the 
people  were  no  longer  to  be  misled  by  names,  but  knew  that  it 
was  better  to  pay  their  taxes  directly  than  indirectly.  On  the 
other  hand,  Mr.  John  Sergeant  insisted  that,  without  any  view  to 
popularity,  these  taxes  ought  to  be  immediately  repealed,  be- 
cause most  of  the  system  of  internal  revenue  had  been  removed 
and  the  particulars  left  wcro  extremely  objectionable;  duties  on 
refined  sugar,  a  domestic  industry  formerly  favoured  by  draw- 
backs, on  retailers  and  on  stamps,  operating  oppressively  on 
meritorious  and  industrious  classes  and  persons.  You  arm  for 
battle  and  disarm  afterwards.  By  fostering  the  interests  of  citi- 
zens, relieving  them  from  burthens  in  peace,  you  enable  them  to 
prepare  for  war.  Mr.  John  Holmes  hoped  never  to  .sec  either  a 
surplus  in  the  treasury  or  a  system  of  internal  duties,  which  should 
be  reserved  for  emergencies,  when  only  would  the  people  endure 
it.  To  maintaining  the  military  and  naval  establishments  of  the 
country  he  had  no  objection,  but  could  not  consent  to  a  broken 
system  of  internal  taxation.  Mr.  Philip  Barbour  remarked  that 
the  theory  of  our  government  does  not  contemplate  internal  reve- 
nue as  its  permanent  policy.  Taxes  on  imports  are  to  be  the 
principal  resource.  Of  the  two  systems  one  is  voluntary,  the 
other  compulsive;  and  it  is  obvious  that  the  latter  are  not 
wanted  now.  If  so,  it  is  both  duty  and  policy  to  repeal  them. 
Internal  duties  are  war  taxes,  imposed  for  that  exigency,  and 
then  cheerfully  paid.  But  wiien  not  wanted,  why  take  their 
money  from  those  who  can  best  employ  it,  to  let  it  lie  idle  in 
the  treasury  ?  There  is  energy  enough  in  the  people  to  call 
out  the  public  resources  when  needed,  and  it  is  worse  than  use- 
less to  do  it  unnecessarily.     James  Johnson,  Timothy  Pitkin, 

21* 


! 


Mir- 


r?;. 


''  I 


246 


TAXES    REPEALED 


[1818. 


and  J.  S.  Smith  also  advocated  immediate  repeal  by  cogent 
arguments,  Mr.  Pitken  particularly  condemning  the  carriage  tax, 
and  Mr.  Smith  the  whisky  tax,  as  oppressive  and  unjust.  Felix 
Walker  said,  as  the  House  was  about  to  take  leave  of  an  old 
acquaintance,  the  internal  taxes,  on  which  he  heartily  congratu- 
lated his  fellow-citizens,  he  called  for  the  yeas  and  nays  on  the 
passage  of  the  bill,  which  were  IGl  yeas  to  five  nays.  These  five 
were  Joseph  Hopkinson,  afterwards  judge  of  the  District  Court 
of  the  United  States  for  the  eastern  district  of  Pennsylvania, 
Henry  Baldwin,  afterwards  judge  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the 
United  States,  Henry  Middleton,  once  governor  of  South  Caro- 
lina, and  afterwards  minister  of  the  United  States  in  Russia, 
Jeremiah  Nelson,  a  merchant  of  Massachusetts,  and  Henry  R. 
Storrs,  who  died  an  eminent  lawyer  of  New  York.  When  five 
members,  of  various  politics,  record  their  names  against  a  mea- 
sure reconmiended  by  the  executive,  and  voted  for  by  one 
hundred  and  sixty,  their  sincerity  and  resolution  are  conspi- 
cuous. The  objection  to  internal  duties  founded  on  their  ex- 
pense is  not  sustained  by  those  of  the  war.  Although  the 
measure  was  new,  the  administration  inexperienced,  without 
statistical  information,  and  the  taxes  small  in  a-viount,  the  cost  of 
collecting  the  internal  duties  did  not  exceed  five,  nor  that  of  the 
direct  tax  six  per  cent.;  much  less  than  the  same  amount  of 
impost  could  be  collected  for,  or  than  it  is,  without  adverting  to 
the  large  expenses  of  the  light  house  establishments,  and  reve- 
nue cutters.  There  are  many  more  persons  employed  by  govern- 
ment in  collecting  the  customs,  than  internal  duties ;  and  more 
executive  patronage  lavished.  If  internal  duties  break  in  upon 
the  dwellings  and  privacy  of  individuals,  household  furniture 
and  watches  alone  were  attended  with  that  consequence.  Nine- 
tenths  of  the  revenue  were  derived  from  stamps,  refined  sugar, 
stills  and  distilled  spirits,  retailers  of  licenses  and  goods  and 
carriages,  all  objects  ether  palpably  exposed  to  public  view  in 
stores  or  factories  unconnected  with  private  dwellings.  The 
odious  name  and  idea  of  excise,  originating  with  the  corrupt 
ministry  of  Walpole,  and  said  to  be  corruptly  used  by  it,  preju- 
dice men  of  English  lineage  against  this  imposition.  The  de- 
ranged and  degraded  currency  of  the  United  States,  rendering 
the  tax  unequal  in  different  parts  as  the  precious  metals  are  found 


;ra 


pm*\ 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


TAXES    REPEALED. 


247 


or  scarce,  is  a  more  substantial  objection;  not  less  applicable, 
however,  to  the  customs  than  to  internal  duujs.  The  direct  or 
land  tax  should  be  reserved  for  exigencies  of  war.  The  value 
of  the  land  and  slaves  of  the  United  States,  estimated  at  six 
thousand  millions  of  dollars,  at  ten  cents  in  the  hundred  dollars, 
would  yield  six  millions  of  dollars.  But  this  is  a  fund  to  be  left  to 
the  states  in  peace,  and  only  drawn  upon  for  the  Union  in  war. 
Internal  duties  on  the  same  objects,  to  half  the  amount  of  those 
laid  in  the  late  war  would  aflbrd  ten  millions  a  year ;  a  certain 
revenue  independent  of  foreign  commerce,  varying  but  little, 
yet  always  increasing  with  the  growth  of  the  country  ;  in  prac- 
tical and  habitual  operation,  always  susceptible  of  improvement 
or  enlargement  according  to  emergencies;  rendering  resort  to 
loans,  when  necessary,  as  they  probably  always  would  be  for 
hostilities,  easy  at  reasonable  rates  and  securing  their  repayment. 
The  influence  of  internal  duties  on  the  perpetual  controversy  of 
a  tarilf  of  customs,  would  be  highly  beneficial ;  rendering  them 
susceptible  of  easy  and  satisfactory  adjustment,  reduced  to  a 
general  average,  upon  which  all  parts  of  the  United  States  might 
agree,  reserving  high  duties  for  a  few  articles  of  indispensable 
national  necessity,  and  preventing  the  sectional  strife  which  has 
convulsed  the  Union  with  alternate  surplus  and  deficiency  of 
revenue.  Great  development  of  foreign  commerce  would  ensue, 
to  insure  a  constant  balance  of  trade  with  all  the  world  in  our 
favour.  Stability,  the  vital  need  of  all  industry,  of  »..  mmerce, 
manufactures,  agriculture  and  income,  would  take  place  of  fluc- 
tuations, equally  hurtful  to  private  and  public  wealth,  individual 
character  and  national  credit. 

The  kindred  subjects  of  commerce,  manufactures  and  finance 
are  all  one— they  are  but  currency.  Three  or  four  millions  from 
internal  duties,  eighteen  or  nineteen  from  customs,  one  or  two 
from  lands,  passing  through  the  medium  of  coin  or  its  equiva- 
lent, would  bring  constant  tranquillity  and  constant  progress. 
Some  internal  duties  would  serve  to  check  the  growing  tendency 
of  Congress  to  extravagant  and  unwarrantable  disbursements. 
Revenues  liable  to  little  fluctuation,  would  lead  to  administrative 
economy,  a  more  saving  process  than  violent  reduction  or  exci- 
sion, the  gage  of  popularity  thrown  down  by  contending  parties 
to  be  redeemed  by  neither. 


'y--,;iv. 


m 


M'-V 


248 


INTERNAL    DUTIES, 


[1818. 


>,sm'^ 


..'.n:.  ■■■■>■  .•'■■:■ . 


K  ■-'■]. 


■  1 


.::i^-ii,' 


Notwithstanding  tlie  assurance  of  the  ^resident  Monroe,  and 
the  chairman  of  the  finance  committee  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, as  well  as  other  members,  that  both  the  executive 
and  legislative  may  always  be  relied  upon,  for  recommending  and 
voting  taxes  whenever  necessary,  the  proof  by  experience  was, 
that  neither  did  so  when  war  was  declared,  much  less  before  it. 
One  third  of  it  elapsed  in  years  of  defeats  and  disasters,  before 
Congress  taxed  their  constituents.  Meantime  a  presidential  elec- 
tion took  place,  till  which  event  no  party  in  power  likes  to 
risk  a  conflict  with  the  party  out  of  power  in  this  republic.  Taxes 
are  compulsory,  palpable  and  annoying ;  customs  optional  and 
imperceptible.  In  other  countries,  those  particularly  with  which 
we  are  most  acquainted,  excessive  taxation  terrifies  us.  All  the 
real  property  of  France,  is  held  by  its  seeming  owners  only  in  trust 
for  government,  into  whose  cofl'ers,  the  proceeds  of  all  of  it  are 
drained  every  third  generation.  Proprietors  have  but  one-third 
of  their  rents  left  for  themselves;  two-thirds  are  every  year  taken 
by  the  treasury.  Such  impositions  levied  for  standing  armies, 
regal  executives,  and  otiier  appropriations  offensive  to  Americans, 
disgust  and  deter  us  from  beginning  a  system  liable  to  such 
abuses.  The  peace  budget  of  France  amounts  to  two  hundred 
and  fifty  millions  of  dollars,  nearly  one  half  land  taxes,  or  bur- 
thens on  the  real  estates  of  that  country  ;  and  less  than  ten  mil- 
lions derived  from  impost. 

That  is  far  short  of  the  peace  budget  of  Great  Britain,  the 
bitter  fruit  of  unrestricted  taxation,  credit,  paper  money,  and 
representative  government.  Including  tithes,  poor  rates,  and 
local  expenses,  (not  figuring  in  the  Parliament  exhibits,)  the 
annual  expenditures  of  Great  Britain  in  peace,  exceed  three 
hundred  millions  of  dollars,  an  amount  of  burthens  which  no 
people  ever  bore  before  ;  and  with  a  national  debt,  which  it  is  not 
easy  to  represent  in  dollars,  so  enormous  is  the  sum,  mostly  accu- 
mulated since  Walpole  introduced  excises.  These  are  portentous 
growths,  to  caution  against  planting  their  seeds,  which  the  calm 
observer  of  national  development  may  contemplate  without  ex- 
aggerated apprehensions. 

The  heaviest  pecuniary  burthens  laid  on  the  United  States  by 
the  war,  were  not  taxes,  but  ninety-eight  millions  of  loans  au- 
thorized by  various  acts  of  Congress,  in  the  years  1811,  '12,  '13, 


mi 


CHAP,  vjn.] 


INTERNAL    DUTIES. 


249 


'14  and  '15,  none  at  an  interest  less  than  six  per  cent.,  some  at 
great  discount,  and  all  paid  in  depreciated  currency:  five  millions 
in  181 1,  reimbursable  in  not  less  than  six  years,  eleven  millions  in 
1812,  twenty-three  millions  and  a  half  in  1813,  thirty-four  mil- 
lions in  1814,  twenty-four  millions  and  a  half  in  1815,  all  reim- 
bursable in  not  less  than  twelve  years,  except  those  portions, 
which,  anticipating  taxes  laid,  were  to  be  paid  by  the  taxes  as 
soon  as  collected.  By  acts  of  Congress  of  the  years  1812,  '13,  '14 
and  15,  treasury  notes  to  the  amount  of  forty  millions  of  dollars, 
all  but  the  last  emission  of  twenty-five  millions,  respecting  which 
it  was  optional  with  the  president  whether  the  notes  should  bear 
interest— bearing  interest  at  five  and  two-fifths  per  cent,  a  year. 
By  several  acts,  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  was  authorized  ,o 
issue  treasury  notes  instead  of  parts  of  the  loans  before  mentioned. 
Thus  considerably  more  than  the  whole  war  debt  was  borrowed 
for  it,  and  paid  ii'  paper  money.  Treasury  notes  fell  as  lov,' as 
seventeen  pe:  >  .,  and  the  public  loans  to  thirty  per  cent, 
below  par  dui  ay  the  war.  The  sinking  fund  and  the  taxes 
were  pledged  for  punctual  payment  of  the  principal  and  interest 
of  the  sums  borrowed.  The  public  faith  was  also  pledged  in  the 
terms  of  the  acts  of  Congress  ;  if  such  expression  adds  to  the  inhe- 
rent obligation,  which  it  is  as  easy  to  break  with,  as  without  it,  if  so 
dishonestly  disposed.  The  war  of  1812  was  carried  on  by  paper 
money,  almost  as  much  as  that  of  the  Revolution.  But  more  per- 
fect union,  better  government,  and  greater  resources  enabled  the 
country  to  pay  the  debt  of  the  last  war,  while  the  three  hundred 
and  sixty  millions,  which  the  first  cost,  remain  unpaid,  till  par- 
tially repaid  by  Congress  by  that  system  of  profuse  pensions  to 
the  soldiers  of  the  Revolution,  which  is  some  atoiicment  for  con- 
tinental money  and  national  insolvency,  crov;ning  that  era  of 
national  independence  with  national  dishonesty. 

No  such  blot  disfigures  the  war  of  '812.  Its  large  debt  has 
been  paid,  every  cent  of  it ;  and  with  it,  a  remnant  of  the  old 
debt  of  the  confederation.  The  striking  and  effectual  difference 
between  the  two,  is,  that  by  the  present  constitution,  the  federal 
principle  acts  directly  on  the  taxables  ;  not  indirectly  through  a 
state  by  its  authority,  or  liable  to  any  state,  sectional  or  local 
counteraction.  The  power  radiated  immediately  from  the  federal 
government  throughout  the  whole  Uiuted  States,  in  every  town, 


'MU: 


■.■■'■  ;?  ■■■,)■  ■ 


WW 


|5-»->'       ..If 


HI*! 


WM-A 


■  -f  '•■  ',■ 


;P''::',V--- 


I,  V  . 


250 


INTERNAL    DUTIES. 


[1818. 


village  and  field,  lighting  upon  every  person  outright,  without 
intervention,  all  as  citizens  of  one  and  the  same  nation.  Federal 
superintendents  collected  it.  The  federal  judiciary  administered 
the  law  to  regulate  and  enforce  the  assessment  and  collection. 
The  taxes  were  paid  forthwith,  into  the  federal  treasury.  That 
pro\  ision  oi  the  constitution  saved  the  war  from  nullification. 
For  if  any  state,  on  any  pretext,  could  have  withheld  its  propor- 
tion, that  fatal  hinderance  would  have  been  inierposed.  It  was 
the  xvowed  object  of  the  Hartford  Convention,  on  the  plea  that 
the  federal  government  did  not  afford  adequfJe  protection  to 
several  of  the  eastern  states  ;  its  avowed  object  v/as  such  a  change 
as  would  allow  th'^m  to  collect  and  expend  their  own  proportion 
of  federal  taxation.  Etfecting  that  change  would  have  disorgan- 
ized, probably  annulled  the  union  of  states,  and  brought  the  war 
to  disas,ii'ous  conclusion.  In  this  respect  it  may  be  questioned  whe- 
ther the  bounty  by  act  of  Congress  proflered  to  the  states  for  ad- 
vancing ti.  nv  direct  taxes,  as  several  of  them  did  in  the  best  spirit, 
was  not  a  dangerous  anti-federal  expedient.  The  militia  power, 
divided  as  it  is  between  Union  and  State,  endangered  hostilities. 
The  tax  power  so  divided,  would  have  broviglit  them  to  iianght. 
In  their  utmost  need,  however,  when  federal  government  was 
much  exhausted,  the  states,  as  states,  proved  the  war's  efficient 
reinforcement. 

The  method  of  taxation  was  excellent  and  completely  success- 
ful. But  the  medium  of  payment  was  as  bad  as  paper  money, 
irredeemable  in  coin,  could  render  it.  In  a  future  chapter,  when 
relating  the  enactment  by  Congress,  in  1814,  under  Dallas'  admin- 
istration of  the  treasury  department,  of  a  bill  chartering  the  second 
Bank  of  the  United  States,  there  will  be  occasion  for  full  expla- 
nation of  the  banking  principle,  with  which  England  hvs  adul- 
terated money.  The  United  States,  with  their  inherent  proneness 
to  exaggerate  all  facilitation  of  progress  and  acquisition,  have 
abused  even  English  principles  of  currc.  ?y.  The  war  of  1812 
first  afflicted  this  country  with  that  greatest  of  all  public  evils, 
that  adulteration  of  the  blood  of  the  body  politic,  a  debased  cur- 
rency, by  means  of  what  is  called  suspension  of  specie  payments 
by  banks.  In  1797,  England  had  recourse,  by  act  of  Parliament, 
to  this  most  revolutionary  of  all  bloodless  violations  of  due  course 
of  law,  and  the  natural  order  of  things,  under  the  pressure  of 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


TAXATION. 


251 


war.  Going  beyond  that  fatal  precedent,  the  same  system  of 
ruin  was  introduced  in  this  country,  without  law,  in  defiance  of 
it,  on  the  plea  of  necessity,  by  common  tacit,  passive  submission 
of  the  people  aud  federal  government  to  the  worst  licentiousness 
of  state  power  and  privileged  fraud.  Brokers'  shops,  called 
banks,  cheated  the  r.ommunity  in  every  way,  by  paper  circulated 
as  money.  Steam  is  not  a  more  prodigious  impulse  to  locomo- 
tion by  land  and  wati  ir,  than  this  most  ruinous  of  all  England's  in- 
heritances by  her  An  orican  cc  lonies,  has  proved  calamitous  to  the 
morals,  property  and  prosperity  of  the  United  States.  In  vain  did 
Madison  protest  against  it  in  the  Federalist,  and  the  federal  con- 
stitution, as  was  believed,  provide  against  it.  The  French  guillo- 
tine of  Robespierre's  terrorist  anarchy  destroyed  fewer  lives  than 
the  English  gallows,  under  Pitt's  dictatorship,  sacrificed  to  the 
remorseless  security  of  paper  money.  Act  of  Parliament  making 
it  a  tender,  was  as  great  an  imposture,  as  setting  up  the  goddess 
of  reason  to  be  worshiped.  Universal  demoralization  has  en- 
sued in  this  country,  so  imitative  and  idolatrous  of  that  undermin- 
ing liberty,  abolishing  equality,  sanctioning  and  systematizing 
luxury,  knavery  and  crime.  Every  village,  every  street  in  every 
town,  has  an  incorporated  bank,  where  the  neighbourhood  must 
pay  toll  to  get  its  food  ground,  as  at  the  lord's  mill  of  old;  the 
country  deSerted  for  cities:  cities  become  bloated  sores,  with 
populace  either  ragged  or  gilded,  living  like  the  Roman,  on  alius 
and  shows,  furnaces  of  corruption,  anarchy  and  mobs.  The  in- 
significant jacobin  minority  of  terrorists,  who  governed  France 
by  assignats,  gave  that  country  infinitely  better  paper  money 
than  the  bank  of  England,  and  the  banks  of  the  United  States, 
during  what  is  called  suspension  of  specie  payments,  that  is, 
stoppage  of  all  payments — for  the  assignats  vested  ot\  large  and 
valuable  real  estate,  pledged  for  their  redemption,  anc  sufficient 
for  much  of  it.  It  was  by  paper  money  that  the  English  national 
debt  was  increased  beyond  all  hope  of  payment.  Paper  money 
renders  sinking  funds  mere  delusion,  commerce  a  lottery,  industry 
a  shame,  deprives  manufacturers  of  all  protection,  reduces  agri- 
culture to  penury,  is  the  fuel  of  incessant  wars,  the  great  scourge 
of  modern  civilization  and  improvement.  In  any  three  years  of 
the  ten,  from  1S35  to  1845,  it  cost  the  United  StatCL-  incalculably 
moro  than  the  three  years  of  war  with  Great  Britain,  from  1812 


■:'* 


•?*' 


a'l 


252 


PAPF  1    MONEY. 


[1818. 


mi'l 


m 


■■* 


FiiU  .^ 


to  1815.  Partial  recovery  from  the  prostration  it  inflicted  on  Eng- 
land, dining  the  twenty-three  years  of  suspension,  from  17.^7  to 
1822,  agonized  that  mighty  empire  more  than  twenty  years  of 
tremendous  warfare  with  France. 

By  this  denunciation  of  the  paper  money,  which  the  last  year 
of  the  war  of  IS  12  let  loose  upon  the  United  States,  paper  pro- 
mises to  pay  money,  as  the  principal  medium  of  all  large  com- 
mercial transactions,  are  not  disowned.  Individual  promissory 
notes  and  bills  of  exchange  are  indispensable ;  as  necessary  and 
useful  in  their  places  as  the  precious  metals :  redeemable  bank 
notes  too  are  in  the  habitual  dealings  of  the  American  people.  It 
is  the  privilege  conferred  by  government  to  substitute  them  irre- 
sponsibly for  coin  that  has  unhitiged  it  and  demoralized  com- 
munities. The  privilege  to  be  irresponsible,  while  performing 
as  individuals  this  primary  function  of  government,  without  in- 
dividual responsibility  to  government  or  individuals,  is  vastly 
greater  and  more  pernicious  than  any  prerogative  of  nobility. 
Paper,  as  the  means  of  payment,  is  as  useful  as  coin ;  but  all 
paper  should  be  issued  and  transferred  upon  personal  obligations 
to  be  answerable  for  its  value.  The  English  prime  minister,  Sir 
Robert  Peel,  the  same  pre-eminent  reformer  of  economy  to  whom 
his  country  owes  her  recovery  from  paper  money, and  restoration 
to  coin  standard,  has  reformed  the  Bank  of  England  by  such  near 
approximation  to  the  true  principle  as  can  hardly  fail  to  produce 
ultimate  complete  revival  of  it.  With  the  immense  influence  of 
that  English  example,  this  country  may  perhaps  be  led  to  perceive 
that  cocoa,  tobacco,  skins,  corn,  and  other  primitive  substitutes  for 
money  were  much  nearer  to  it  than  paper,  privileged  by  charter 
of  incorporation  to  make  it  irredeemably.  No  religious  infidelity, 
no  pagan  mystery  is  more  preposterous  than  the  foolish  belief 
that  money  can  be  made  of  paper.  The  precious  metals,  by 
■whatever  mysterious  exclusiveness  of  right,  are  as  much  money 
in  London  when  paper  is  by  law  made  to  pass  for  it,  as  they 
were  when  it  took  a  cartload  of  iron  in  Sparta  to  pay  a  trades- 
man's bill.  The  bank  parlour  postulate  of  one  dollar  in  the  vault 
to  answer  for  three  in  circulation,  is  as  gross  an  absurdity  as  any 
other  refuted  by  science,  common  sense  and  experience. 

Never  was  metropolitan  arrogance  so  flagrant  as  when  Eng- 
land put  this  country  out  o"  'he  social,  as  well  as  political  pale 


yi%;v., 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


MONEY. 


253 


for  what  is  termed  repudiation  of  public  debts:  the  fatal  lesson 
she  taught  us.  For  three-and-twenty  years  she  never  paid  one. 
Her  king,  lords,  and  commons,  bench  of  bishops,  courts  of  jus- 
tice, Westminster  Hall  and  Guildhall,  taught  the  incorporated 
broker  shops  of  the  United  Stat'  s  how  easy  it  is  to  defraud  by 
means  of  paper  money.  The  English  statute  book  groans  with 
acts  of  Parliament  reducing  either  the  principal  or  interest  of 
national  debts.  The  whole  of  the  national  debt  can  never  be 
provided  for  but  by  the  sponge  of  a  revolution.  Deluded  to 
the  extravagances  which  paper  money  always  engenders,  states, 
corporations,  and. individuals  in  this  country,  contracted  debts  to 
England,  mostly  for  manufactu''js,  charged  at  a  third  or  more 
beyond  their  value.  The  f\iy  of  responsibility  came  with  tran- 
sient inability  to  pay  in  money.  We  paid  precisely  as  the 
British  government  during  a  quarter  of  a  century  paid  all  its 
debts,  in  promises  to  pay :  and,  unlike  English  promises  to  pay, 
American  promises  to  pay  will  all  be  redeemed  by  payment  in 
money,  while  English  promises  to  pay  never  will  or  can  be.  Not 
only  so ;  but  the  sentiment  of  pri^W'.j  is  less  loosened  here  than 
there.  While  practical  repudiation  was  long  the  law  there,  it 
never  was  law  here.  Bank  notes  never  were,  could  not  be 
made,  legal  tender  in  the  United  States.  The  day  must  come, 
cannot  be  distant  here,  when  all  debts  will  be  paid  in  money :  in 
England  that  day  for  the  national  debt  can  never  come.  Not 
a  State  of  the  American  confederacy  has  ever  failed  to  disown 
repudiation,  while  to  a  certain  practical  extent  it  is  of  frequent 
recurrence  in  English  government,  and  must  be  the  only  eventual 
resort  there  where  repudiation  or  revolution  is  the  national  option. 
For  superintending  the  collection  of  the  direct  tax  and  internal 
revenue,  Congress,  on  the  24th  of  July,  18113,  created  an  office  in 
the  treasury  department,  to  be  filled  by  an  officer  called  Com- 
missioner of  the  Revenue,  charged  under  direction  of  the  Sec- 
retary of  the  Treasury,  with  preparing  all  forms  necessary  (or 
collectors  and  assessors,  distributing  licenses,  and  generally  super- 
intending all  officers  employed  in  assessing  and  collecting  taxes; 
authorizing  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to  transfer  the  collec- 
tion of  impost  and  tonnage  duties,  if  he  should  be  of  opinion  that 
it  promoted  the  public  interest,  from  the  comptroller  of  the 
treasury  to  the  commissioner  of  the  revenue.  The  president 
conferred  this  laborious  and  important  place  on  Mr.  Samuel 
VOL.  i. — 23 


■*'•■»' 


\  1 . 


vm.}  > 


5254 


MONEY. 


[JULY,  1613, 


hi»'. 


Harrison  Smith,  to  whom  I  am  beholden  for  most  of  the  detail-j 
concerning  it.  Mr.  Smitli  is  still  living  at  the  city  of  Washington, 
where  he  was  appointed  President  of  the  Branch  Bank  of  the 
United  States,  some  lime  after  his  function  as  commissioner  of 
revenue  ceased  in  181 S,  by  the  repeal  of  the  whole  system.  O.'i 
the  removal  of  the  seat  of  federal  government  from  Philadelphia  to 
Washington,  he  accompanied  it,  and  was  editor  of  the  National  In- 
telligencer during  Jefferson's  administration,  and  till  succeeded  in 
that  employment  by  the  present  editors,  Messrs.  Gales  and  Seaton. 
The  tone  of  moderation  and  decorum,  for  which  that  leading  jour- 
nal has  always  been  remarkable,  began  with  Mr.  Smith,  who  en- 
joyed the  confidence  of  Presidents  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe 
and  John  Quincy  Adams.  He  is  a  gentleman  of  respectable  literary 
and  scientific  attainments,  nnich  respected  by  all  who  know  him; 
especially  for  his  excellent  management  of  an  important  fiscal 
dependence  of  government  during  the  war  of  1812.  The  rude 
presidential  reform,  which  shook  so  many  from  their  positions,  on 
the  political  revolution  of  Jackson's  advent  to  chief  magistracy, 
displaced  Mr.  Smith  with  his  bank.  Government  which  Jefferson 
inaugurated,  Madison  mitigated,  and  Monroe  melted  into  an  era 
of  good  feelings,  Jackson  revived  to  radical  democracy,  beyond 
that  which  Mr.  Smith  and  others  of  the  adherents  of  the  three 
former  democratic  ])residents  deemed  right.  It  required  the  rough 
edge  of  a  soldier's  broadsword  to  hack  out  the  gangrene  with 
which  paper  money,  under  colour  of  bank  abuses,  state  and  fede- 
ral, diseased  America.  Jackson's  detestation  of  that  scourge  was 
not  more  implacable  than  JMadison's,  as  his  eloquent  reprobation 
of  it  testifies  in  the  Federalist.  His  mode  of  extirpation  would, 
no  doubt,  have  been  dill'erent :  but  his  determination  to  effect  it 
the  same. 

Paper  money  will  he  treated  more  fully  in  another  part  of  this 
historical  sketch,  when  the  creation  of  a  national  bank  as  a  war 
measure  and  suspension  of  coin  payments  by  certain  state  banks 
come  to  be  consi'krcd.  To  return  now  from  a  digression  or 
antirinntion  which  this  topic  may  have  provoked  into  the  narra- 
tivr*  ,M  propriate  to  the  year  1813: — the  war  of  1812,  notwith- 
st;t  ]  a  disc.'ised  currency,  was  far  from  disadvantageous  to 
na;     ,?'[  resource  eventually. 

The  amiexei!  tabular  statements  will  show  that  by  commercial 
vexatious,  the  income  of  the  United  States  was  almost  as  much 


CHAP,  vin.] 


MONEY. 


255 


reduced  before  as  during  the  war,  that  it  was  less  in  1809  and  1810 
than  in  1812 ;  reduced  one  half  from  1808  to  18U9  and  IS  10;  very- 
little  more  in  1811  than  in  1813;  and  so  much  increased  in  181(} 
as  to  prove  that  then,  far  from  any  permanf^nt  injury,  it  caused  a 
spring  to  the  national  wealth  on  the  return  of  peace  The  average 
and  total  of  the  years  1312,  '13,  '14,  '15  and  'IG,  that  is,  during 
the  war  and  one  year  after,  were  greater  than  during  the  live 
years  preceding  war.  The  sales  of  public  lands  increased  year 
after  year  every  year  during  war.  So  did  the  postages:  although 
the  receipts  from  taxes  and  internal  revenue  were  scarcely  per- 
ceptible till  1814,  the  third  year  of  the  war,  and  then  they  scarce 
exceeded  one  million  and  a  half  of  dollars.  The  evils  of  the  war 
were  as  much  magnified  as  its  advantages,  hereafter  to  be  more 
fully  shown,  are  apt  to  be  undervalued. 

The  tabular  views  annexed  of — 1.  The  income  of  the  United 
States;  2.  The  customs  from  1808  to  1816  inclusive;  3.  The  in- 
ternal revenue,  while  in  operation ;  4.  The  expenses  of  collection; 
5.  The  war  loans;  and,  6.  The  treasury  notes  issued  for  the  war 
are  full  of  instruction  as  to  its  effects.  These  tables  have  been 
prepared  with  great  care,  from  the  best  materials. 


■  "'» 


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[JULY,  1813. 


CHAP.  VIII.l 


TABLES. 


257 


No.  2. — A  statement  exhibiting  the  gross  and  net  revenue  which 
accrued  annually  from  customs,  during  the  years  1808  to  181(}  inclu- 
sive, and  also  the  payments  into  the  treasury  and  expenses  of  collection 
during  the  same  period. 


tc 

B    ?    S 

■^  fr 

<;ro8S  revenue'   Debentures  '  Kxpenscs 

Net 

Payments  into 

£  ^-2 

|<S 

from  customs,  issued,  boun-   ofcollcc- 

revenue. 

the  Treasury. 

S  S  «! 

k  Vi 

tiesSc  allow- 1      tion. 

o.  M  -g 

t  n 

unci's  to  fish-; 

^ 

ing  vessels,  i 

5  =  0 

1S0« 

11,284,939  44  j    409,548  65    643,227  14 

10,332,163  75 

16,363,660  58 

499 

1*S09 

11,777,714  40  4,766,648   IS    494,998  02 

6,627,168  20 

7,290,021)  58 

7-04 

ISIO 

16,794,300  96  3,841,428  06    439,3S2  H7 

12,613,490  03 

8,6S3,309  31 

3-39 

ISll 

10,571,613  21  '2,228,029  13    440,924  46 

7,902,669  62 

13,313,222  73 

5-28 

1812 

15,160,409  61  |1,642,022  19    476,838  96 

13,142,008  37 

8,968,777  63 

3-49 

1813 

7,699.177  31       580,327   16    410,483  94 

6,708,3<ir.  21 

13,224,623  25 

6-76 

1H14 

4,632,306  81  !      26.0S2  37    356.S62  85 

4,260,361  69 

6,998,772  08 

7-72 

1S15 

38,477,783  06   1,706,714  96    465,016  58 

36,306,022  51 

7,282.942  22 

1-26 

1816 

33,216,104  92  4,916,631  06    816,373  60 

27,484,100  36 

36,306,874  88 

2-88 

No.  "i.'—Jl  statement  exhibiting  the  gross  and  net  revenue  which 
accrued  under  the  several  acts  laying  infernal  duties,  and  also  the 
expenses  of  collection  and  payment  into  the  treasury  under  the  said 
acts. 


be  V 

=  Xl 

^  S 

a  V 

m 

Oross 
Revenue. 

Deduct 

Net 
Revenue. 

Payments 

into  the 

Treasury. 

Rate  per 

cent,  of 
expenses 
of  collec- 
tion. 

Duties 

rclunilcd, 

debentures 

paid,  and 

other 
charges. 

Kxponses 
Collection. 

1S14 
1S16 
1816 
1817* 

3,311,112  61 
6,423,490  34 
4,725,842  44 
3,324,863  67 

12,208  691138,826  06 
129,172  881277,628  92 

23,389  33  311.313  26 
366,314  37  368,772  85 

1 

3,160,078  96  1,662,984  82 
6,016,688  64  4,678,059  07 
4,391,139  85  6,124,708  31 
2,589,766  46  2,678,100  77 

4.19 
4.41 
6.62. 
12.46 

•  The  expense  of  collection  was  increased  this  year  by  additional  allow- 
ances to  collectors,  authorized  by  the  Act  of  23d  December,  1817,  which  abo- 
lished these  duties.  The  average  expense  of  collection  for  the  years  1814, 
1815  and  1816,  may  be  estimated  at  5^\.  per  cent. 


22' 


'%'■ 


^■^^- 


/*«• 


^%. 


f-. 


I..* 


i 
m 

r^v  .  ■  ^'-  ■■■■ 


"y\ 


258 


TAX    TABLKS. 


[JULY,  1813. 


No.  4. — Jl  Hlatfuirnt  ejhihilin'^  the  groHs  and  net  revenue  which 
accrued  under  the  secerat  uctn  Itijjuiir  a  direct  tux,  and  atno  the  eX' 
penses  of  collection  and  jjuynicntu  into  the  treumiri/  under  the  same 
respectivety. 


(irORS 

ll(?v(!mie  or 
AHHCHsincnt. 

Deduct 

Not 
Revenue. 

Paynipnts 

into  tlio 

Treasury. 

Rnte  ppr 

(•('lit.  of 
expctiscH 
of  collec- 
tion. 

Krrors  in 

as!i(.'Hsiiiorit 

and  Btiiidry 

other 

chiirRrs. 

Exponses 

of 
Collcctiun. 

1NI4 
IMIS 
1816 

3,026,!t89  96     1  1,106  62   3(m.7.)4  79 
6,091,62.")  42    43,300  77  ,47r),r)66  37 
3,099,419  49    51,.')29  01  |236,7.)6  53 

2,712,128  .'J5 
5,572,758  28 
2,811,133  95 

2,219,497  36 
2,162,67:!  41 
4,263,635  09 

9.98 
7.86 
7.77 

No.  5.— Loans  of  1813,  1813,  1814  and  1815. 


The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  in  his  re- 
port of  December,  181.5,  estimated  the  whole 
amount  of  the  funded  debt,  in  reference  to 
the  late  war,  at 

The  amount  actually  funded,  as  appears  by 
the  public  accounts,  is  stated  at       - 

The  expenses  incident  to  these  loans 
amounted  to  §121,361  18,  which  is  equal  to 
0,VV  per  cent. 


g?63,144,972  50 
iS62,661,228  87 


No.  G.— Treasury  Notes  issued  in  1812,  1813,  1814  and  1815. 


By  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  Novem- 
ber, 1818,  it  appears  that  treasury  notes  were 
issued  under  the  several  acts  of  1812,  1813, 
1814  and  1815,  amounting  to 

The  expenses  incident  to  their  issue  were 
i*!63,630  32,  which  is  equal  to  Oj\J^  per  cent. 


^36,680,794  00 


The  President  of  the  United  States,  during  the  war  of  1818, 
without  either  military  or  popular  talents,  was,  nevertheless, 
fitted  for  the  crisis  by  calm,  tenacious,  honest  and  superior  intel- 
Hgence,  intimate  knowledge  of  the  constitution,  and  inflexible 
adhesion  to  its  requirements.    James  Madison  was  a  small  man, 


CHAP.  Vlll.) 


MADlSn?J. 


2B9 


with  nothing  imposing  in  his  appearance,  and  shy,  cold,  manners, 
circumspect  and  reserved  without  heing  taciturn,  his  face  wrin- 
kled and  willed,  his  dress  plain,  his  conversation  luminous  and 
etiifying;  liis  political  discriminations  and  analysis  nice  even  to 
subtlety.  His  youth,  after  good  education,  was  spent  in  close 
miscellaneous  study.  Though  just  of  an  age  to  embark  in  the 
revolution,  of  which  he  was  an  advocate,  he  took  no  military 
part,  but  retiring,  contemplative,  and  feeble  in  health,  devoted 
himself  to  mental  cultivation.  His  life,  from  first  to  last,  v  is 
passionless  and  thoughtful ;  thougli  his  affections  wt^re  kind  and 
his  attachments  constant.  Most  of  his  politics  coincided  with 
Jefferson's ;  but  with  some  modifications,  taking  nothing  for 
granted,  by  sentiment  or  sympathy  ;  rather  adopted  than  natural 
offspring;  at  any  rate  the  offspring  of  thought,  not  impulse. 
He  was  a  constant  opponent  of  all  union  of  politics  with  reli- 
gion; thoroughly  read  in  the  Scriptures,  but  inscrutably  reserved 
in  his  religious  opinions.  At  twenty-five  years  of  ;ige,  in 
1776,  elected  to  the  Virginia  House  of  Delegates,  he  voted  for 
instructions  to  (Congress  to  declare  independence;  but  made  no 
speech  or  figure,  and  at  the  next  election  was  superseded  by  a 
more  forward  competitor.  The  year  after,  however,  his  county 
chose  him  again  ;  and  the  legislature  elected  him  in  1779  a  mem- 
ber of  the  council  of  the  state,  in  which  he  continued  till  elected 
a  member  of  Congress  in  1784,  uniformly  modest,  and  retiring, 
but  useful,  industrious  and  instructive.  During  his  service  in  the 
council,  Patrick  Henry  and  .Tellersou  were  successively  Govern- 
ors of  Virginia;  both  of  whom  experienced  Madison's  know- 
ledge, wisdom  and  probity  ;  not  shining,  but  sure,  and  co"  '..i  aly 
improving.  Jefferson,  who  delighted  to  extol  him,  used  to  men- 
tion his  amiable  behaviour,  his  readiness  and  facility  at  drafting 
reports  or  bills,  and  the  gratuitous  help  he  was  alway,:  willing  to 
give  to  members  of  the  legislature,  and  his  talents  for  business. 
Governor  Henry,  not  understanding  French,  for  which  there  was 
much  occasion  in  communication  with  the  officers  of  the  French 
army,  Madison  was  his  interpreter,  and  otherwise  so  serviceable 
to  Henry,  that  he  was  called  his  secretary.  He  did  not,  however, 
learn  from  Henry  the  art  of  public  speaking,  in  which  Madison 
was  so  backward  from  extreme  bashfulness,  that  Jefferson  thought 
Madison  would  probably  have  never  become  the  eminent  public 
speaker  he  did,  but  for  accidental  training,  first  in  the  council  of 


f* 


%■■■ 


-  '    •      ;  ■'»,. 


^•S^'.- 


,jK  1,' 

:>■■■<  I. 


Mm  ^> 


id*      ■■ 


260 


MADISON. 


[JULY,  1813. 


Virginia,  consisting  of  only  ten  persons,  so  that  to  speaic  was  little 
more  than  conversation,  and  then  in  Congress,  under  the  confede- 
ration, with  only  fifty-six  gentlemen  in  secret  session  withont  pub- 
lic audience.  The  conspicuous  part  he  performed  is  knov/n  to  all 
in  what  is  called  framing  (meaning  forming)  the  federal  constitu- 
tion, of  which  from  his  large  contributions  and  his  sur driving  the 
thirty-nine  members  of  the  convention  who  accomplished  it,  he 
was  ca''  'd  the  father.  From  1776,  when  as  member  of  the  Vir- 
ginia leg  slature,he  contributed  to  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
for  forty  /ears  till  1817,  when  he  voluntarily  retired  from  the  pre- 
sidency, as  member  of  the  public  councils  of  a  leading  state,  as 
member  of  Congress,  as  Secretary  of  State  during  eight  years,  and 
chief  magistrate  during  eight  years  more,  no  mind  has  stamped 
more  of  its  impressions  on  American  institutions  than  Madison's. 
Not  a  mii.i  of  genius,  like  Jefferson,  he  did  not  strike  the  raw 
material  of  public  sentiment  from  crudity  into  currency.  Not  a 
hero  like  Washington,  he  did  not  till  the  public  administration 
with  his  own  impression.  Without  towerirg  talents  to  command 
other  men,  his  ascendant  was  gradual  and  intellectual.  Yet  he 
was  nearly  always  a  leading  man, and  his  midway  republicanism 
adopted  at  first,  though  somewhat  affected  by  the  flux  and  reflux 
of  time,  is  likely  to  maintain  the  even  tenour  of  its  way.  The 
p  pers  of  the  Federalist  are  a  text-book,  of  which,  without  odious 
comparison  of  Madi.son's  numbers  with  Hamilton's  and  Jay's, 
it  may  be  said  that  the  great  authority  of  the  work  is  due  to 
their  sustaining  by  it  doctrines  which  Madison  above  all  asserted. 
As  soon  as  the  present  constitution  was  adopted,  Madison  was 
elected  to  Congress  in  1789,  and  re-elected  till  1798;  during 
which  eight  years  his  part  was  so  prominent  and  pervading  in 
all  deliberations  and  acts,  that  none  took  place  withcui  his  im- 
portant agency,  and  in  most  of  the  leading  measures  his  was  the 
leading  part.  In  the  formation  of  parties  ho  sided  with  the 
republicans,  particularly  on  the  cardinal  divisions  of  the  bank 
and  the  British  treaty.  IJut  he  continued  on  kind  and  confi- 
dential terms  with  Washington,  and  always  acknowledged  the 
talents,  services  and  integrity  of  Hamilton.  In  Congress  he  was 
a  irequent  debater,  seldom  without  full  preparation,  exhausting 
subjects,  so  that  his  arguments  suggested  and  refuted  those  of 
adversaries  which  they  had  not  thought  of  All  his  speeches  and 
state  papers  are  calm,  respectful  and  forbearing,  while  earnest, 


f;v 


m  r. 


CHAP.  VIIL] 


MADISON. 


261 


sting 

se  of 

and 

nest. 


candid  and  forcible,  the  diction  chdi^le  and  elegant,  seldom  im- 
passioned, though  his  oft-quoted  denunciation  in  the  Federalist  of 
paper  money  is  one  of  the  most  eloquent  appeals  extant  against 
that  modern  monster.  The  resolutions  of  the  Virginia  legislature 
of  1798  against  the  alien  and  sedition  laws,  are  his  production, 
though  not  then  a  member  of  that  body,  to  which  he  was  chosen 
next  year,  and  drew  the  celebrated  report  in  their  vindication, 
which  report  and  resolutions  have  ever  since  been  standards  of 
politics. 

As  Jefferson's  Secretary  of  State,  at  a  period  when  that  depart- 
ment, substituting  the  moral  force  of  reason  and  international  law 
for  violence— Jefferson  inflexibly  resolved  on  peace  at  every 
hazard,  Madison  as  cordially  convinced  of  the  wisdom  of  keep- 
ing this  growing  and  feeble  country  out  of  the  vortex  of  the 
ruinous  warfare  by  which  Europe  was  devastated,  and  the  ocean 
pillaged — Madison's  masterly  exertions  as  the  advocate  of  peace- 
able freedom  and  maritime  rights  were  intense,  incessant  and 
superior.  All  the  great  disputes  on  municipal  and  national  law 
evolved  by  the  relative  rights  of  war  and  peace,  colonial  trade 
contraband,  search,  impressment,  blockades,  embargo,  counter- 
vailing restrictions,  non-intercourse — he  argued  beforeilie  world, 
and  vindicated  for  his  country,  with  a  depth  of  research,  power  of 
argument,  and  force  unsurpassed  by  any  state  papers.  On  the 
question  of  impressment,  the  most  exciting  and  difficult  of  all, 
involving  direct  conflict  of  British  and  American  law  as  to  sub- 
jection and  citizenship,  Madison's  correspondence  with  the  Ame- 
rican ministers  in  England,  and  the  English  ministers  in  America, 
excels  every  other  discussion  of  that  subject.  Every  year  public 
sentiment  was  enlightened  and  encouraged  by  his  admirable 
logic,  and  ripened  for  that  appeal  to  arms  which,  after  exhaust- 
ing forbearance,  and  not  till  then,  was  the  last  resort  against 
such  wrongs.  In  the  subsequent  correspondence  between  Mr. 
Webster  and  Lord  Ashburton,  the  former  and  his  many  admirers 
seem  to  suppose  that  he  brings  forward  new  and  striking  views 
of  this  topic.  But  Madison  had  preceded  and  exceeded  him  in 
every  one  of  them,  with  the  consummate  ability  of  a  statesman 
compared  to  a  great  lawyer.  And  while  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  were  in  1842  controverting  the  merely  revived 
dogmas  of  search  and  visitation,  as  if  they  were  for  the  first  time 
enunciated,  Madison's  presidential  message  to  Congress  in  May, 


Ir. 


;-< 


.■f  ■ 


\^' 


i>-- 


262 


MADISON. 


[JULY,  1813. 


1813,  covered  the  whole  ground  as  coiicUisively  as  comprehen- 
sively.   Free  ships,  free  goods,  was  a  principle  deemed  by  him  a 
legitimate  and  demonstrable  part  of  the  laws  of  nations,  and  the 
best  guarantee  of  permanent  maritime  peace.     Peace  and  good 
will,  equal  commerce  and  international  justice,  are,  according  to 
his  doctrine,  the  paramount  policy  as  well  as  right  of  states; 
and,  beyond  Jefferson,  who  partly  yielded  the  great  American 
doctrine  of  free   ships,  free   goods,  Madison  maintained  their 
conformity  with   the  established  laws  of  nations.     When  the 
evil  of  war  became   unavoidable,  after  being  by  all  possible 
means  averted  as  long  as  possible,  he  thought  that  it  was  to  be 
mitigated  and  abridged  as  much  and  as  soon  as  possible.     With 
these  impressions  deeply  fixed  in  his  conscience  and  reason,  it 
was  his  fate  to  be  executive  chief  magistrate  of  war ;  and  among 
the  torrents  of  abuse  which  enemies  and  opponents  showered 
upon  him,  not  one  accused  him  of  selfish  ambition  or  arbitrary 
power.    The  law  never  lost  its  supremacy  by  his  administration, 
which  is  much  more  than  equivalent  for  the  want  of  military 
talents  imputed  to  him.     When  the  British  government  resolved 
by  the  severest  trial  of  that  war  to  assert  perpetuity  of  allegiance 
by  the  e^cution  of  a  number  of  American  naturalized  citizens 
taken  prisoners  of  war,  the  crisis  found  in  Madison  a  champion 
of  the  American  principle,  not  to  be  deterred  or  alarmed  by  any 
sacrifice.     Undertaking  chief  magistracy  bequeathed  to  him  by 
his  more  salient  predecessor  with  a  complication  of  difficulties,  he 
went  through  the  war  meekly,  as  adversaries  alleged  shrinkingly, 
no  doubt  with  anxious  longing  for  the  restoration  of  peace,  but 
without  ever  yielding  a  principle  to  his  enemies  or  a  point  to  his 
adversaries  ;  leaving  the  United  States,  which  he  found  embar- 
rassed and  discredited,  successful,  prosperous,  glorious  and  con- 
tent.    A  constitution  which  its  opponents  pronounced  incapable 
of  hostilities,  under  his  administration  triumphantly  bore  their 
severest  brunt.     Checkered  by  the  inevitable  vicissitudes  of  war, 
its  trials  never  disturbed  the  composure  of  the  commander-in-chief, 
always  calm,  consistent  and  conscientious,  never  much  elated  by 
victory  or  depressed  by  defeat,  never  once  by  the  utmost  emer- 
gencies of  war,  betrayed  into  a  breach  of  the  constitution.     E.x- 
posed  to  that  licentious  abuse  which  leading  men  in  free  countries 
with  an  unshackled  press  cannot  escape,  his  patience  was  never 
exhausted ;  nor  his  forbearance  deprived  of  dignity  by  complaint, 


'     Tl'   *    I 

i 


mpion 
any 
im  by 
ies,  he 
ingly, 
e,  Vjut 
to  his 
mbar- 
con- 
\pable 
their 
(■  war, 
chief, 
cd  by 
emer- 
Ex- 
intrics 
never 
iplaint, 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


MADISON. 


263 


retort,  or  self-defence,  but  in  the  quiet  serenity  of  rectitude,  he 
wailed  on  events  with  uninterrupted  confidence.     At  the  close 
of  one  of  the  sessions  of  Congress,  before  the  present  constitution, 
when  Madison  was  a  member,  takirig  leave  of  a  friend,  he  said 
he  should  never  be  in  public  life  again :  on  his  friend's  saying 
tiiat  he  would  be  in  tlte  next  Congress,  "  Not  I,"  replied  Madi- 
son ;  "  I  would  rather  be  in  an  insane  hospital."     Yet,  thence- 
forward, during  thirty  years,  he  was  never  out  of  public  hfe, 
(tliough,  like  all  its  followers,  he  felt  momentary  disgust,)  till 
sixty-six  years  old,  when  lie  at  last  laid  down  the  presidency, 
and  withdrew  to  pass  nearly  twenty  more  on  his  estate  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  his  birth-place  in  Virgniia,  surviving  detraction, 
and  soon  becoming  a  shrine  to  which  Americans  of  all  parties, 
and  respectable  foreigners  fondly  repaired,  to  enjoy  the  hospitable 
home  of  a  model  for  American  statesmen.     Except  a  short  resi- 
dence at  Richmond,  in  1829,  as  -^  member  of  the  convention  assem- 
bled there  to  reform  the  constitution  of  Virginia,  or  an  occasional 
visit  to  his  neighbour,  INIr.  Jelferson,  Mr.  Madison  hardly  left  his 
own  plantation  from  the  time  of  his  retirement  to  his  death  in 
June,  1S36.     During  life  lie  traveled  but  little,  never  having  seen 
much  of  the  country  which  he  so  largely  contributed  to  make  one 
nation,  nor  any  part  of  any  other.  His  sympathies,  tastes,  habits, 
and  preferences  were  domestic  and  purely  American ;  there  was 
no  European  idolatry  mixed  with  them.     Hence,  perhaps,  the  ill 
bred  of  Europe,  who  visit  and  decry  America,  might  disparage 
the  figure,  manners,  furniture,  equipage  and  other  externals  of 
the  residence  and  appearance  of  this  American  chief  magistrate 
and  gtiiitleman,  as  inferior  to  their  arbitrary  standards.    Nor  need 
we  deny  the  superior  splendour  of  greater  wealth  or  its  inthience, 
though  in  matters  of  taste  the  most  refined  of  different  nations 
disagree.     The  substantial  and  elegant  hospitalities  of  Madison's 
house,  both  on  his  large  estate  in  Virginia,  and  in  the  presidential 
mansion  at  Washington,  consisted  with  polished  life,  and  might  be 
advantageously  compared  with  more  sumptuous  entertainment. 
Elegance  does  not  consist  in  opulence,  as  vulgar  persons  are  apt 
to  imagine  :  otherwise  French  and  Italian  excellence  in  all  attrac- 
tions of  the  table,  tlie  drawing-room,  the  public  spectacle,  music, 
sculpture  and  painting,  would  be  eclipsed  by  what  at  best  is  infe- 
rior ]iritish  imitation  of  them.     At  lurty-three  years  of  age,  Mr. 
Madison  married  a  lady  bro\ight  up  in  the  strictest  self-denials 


•,  1 


m- 


W\ 


IS 


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,{ 


i-w5    ■  :■  .V 


H'-  is/ 


264 


MADISON, 


[JULY,  1813. 


of  the  Quaker  sect,  to  whom  frivolous  accomplishments,  together 
with  elegant  clothing,  were  forbidden  :  yet  she  proved  the  graceful 
companion  of  his  elevation,  with  manners  noble  and  gracious, 
the  nicest  sense  of  the  most  re;  ,:ed  good-breeding,  and  certainly- 
better  fitted  for  courts  than  mr  ny  of  those  frequenting  them:  for 
good  man»\ers  and  refined  •  'ill  \ition  do  not  depend  on  mere 
wealth  or  mere  titular  rank.  Jefferson  and  Madison  attempted 
to  reform  the  proneness  of  their  countrymen  to  titles  by  dropping 
excellency,  honourable,  and  esquire  from  names.  Yet  the  attempt 
almost  ended  as  it  began  with  them :  candid  Americans  must 
confess  that  titles  and  vvetilth  are  worshiped  by  too  many  in  this 
country. 

During  Madison's  long  retirement,  company,  correspondence, 
agriculture,  and  the  University  of  Virginia,  of  which  he  was  re- 
gent, with  exercise  in  the  saddle,  were  his  recreations.  Like 
"Washington,  Jefferson,  Monroe,  and  all  the  Virginia  gentlemen 
of  that  day,  he  was  an  expert  horseman,  and  addicted  to  horse- 
back recreations.  He  was  fond  of  table-talk;  and,  though  tem- 
perate in  all  things,  enjoyed  not  only  wine,  but  the  lively,  and 
even  the  sometimes  more  than  lively  freedom  it  produces. — 
Jefferson,  with  uncommon  colloquial  powers,  was  constitu- 
tionally modest,  and  would  blnsh  at  any  indelicate  allusion. 
Madison,  more  diffident  of  opinion,  was  fond  of  free  chat,  and 
rather  enjoyed  what  his  instructor  would  have  shrunk  from. 
On  a  visit  I  paid  Mr.  Madison,  about  six  weeks  before  his  death, 
I  found  him  extremely  weak,  so  that  he  never  left  his  chamber, 
and  seldom  a  couch ;,  but  while  life  was  at  the  lowest  ebb,  his 
fine  mind  was  bright,  memory  clear,  and  conversation  delightful. 
Avoiding,  with  impervious  retention,  all  judgment  of  men  or 
things  that  might  in  any  way  identify  him  with  the  politics,  the 
parties  or  the  persons  of  the  time,  he  conversed  without  reserve, 
and  with  surprising  intelligence,  even  subtle  discrimination,  of 
constitutional  or  any  other  open  topics ;  asserting  his  long-cher- 
ished midway  opinions  with  unabated  attachment.  On  the  28th 
of  June,  1836,  he  died,  at  the  age  of  eighty-five.  His  mother  died 
in  his  house  nearly  a  hundred  years  old.  The  President,  General 
Jackson,  announced  Madison's  death  to  Congress  by  a  brief  mes- 
sage, that  measures  might  be  adopted  testifying  respect  due  to  the 
memory  of  one  whose  life  contributed  so  essentially  to  the  happi- 
ness and  glory  of  his  country,  and  the  good  of  mankind.     Mr. 


CHAP.  VIII.] 


MADIi^ON. 


266 


Patton,  the  member  from  his  district,  moved  the  resolution  of 
condolence,  which  was  seconded  by  Mr.  Quincy  Adams,  the  only 
surviving  ex-president,  then  a  member  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, brought  together  as  he  said,  by  emanations  from  Madi- 
son's mind,  to  address  each  other  by  the  endearing  appellations 
of  countrymen  and  fellow-citizens. 

What  then  is  the  shading  of  this  seeming  strain  of  panegyric? 
No  one  has  been  more  abused  than  Madison.  But  not  only  did 
it  all  die  away,  but  died  before  he  died.  He  was  charged  with 
subserviency  to  F  .^nce,  with  timidity,  incapacity  for  great  deeds, 
with  inebriety,  and  other  unworthiuess  of  which  the  specifications 
are  since  forgotten.  A  statement  of  the  multiplied  detraction  show- 
ered on  him,  would  instruct  and  console  as  to  the  futility  of  abuse 
without  truth,  when  uttered  and  registered  by  licentious  presses. 
Retirement  and  seclusion,  death,  and  time  pass  amnesty  on  all  that 
is  not  unpardonable  ;  while  better  instincts  exalt  the  praiseworthy 
actions.  The  evil  goes  into  oblivion.  The  good  is  consecrated. 
There  exiSits  a  remnant  of  inveterate,  respectable  federalists,  who 
still  deny  Madison's  merits.  But  the  great  body  of  his  country- 
men are  unanimous  in  awarding  him  immortality.  Much  more 
than  Jeflerson,  he  enjoys  undivided  favour.  He  was  no  hero, 
not  a  man  of  genius,  not  remarkable  for  the  talent  of  personal 
ascendency.  But  his  patriotic  services  are  parcel  of  the  most 
fundamental  civil,  and  the  most  renowned  military  grandeur  of 
this  republic,  and  iiis  private  life  without  stain  or  reproach. 


\  ••■ 


.  -v 


VOL.  I. — 23 


/t* 


^       ■^■»r-,V,<W-«^V"-tfA 


266 


NORTHERN     CAMPAION.  [APRIL,  1813. 


CHAPTEK   IX. 

NORTUF.RN  CAMPAIGN.— EUSTIS  RESIGNS  T'lK  WAR  I  Cl'ARTMRNT.— 
ARMSTRONG  APPOINTED  SECRETARY  OF  W  AR.— PLAN  OF  (  AMPAIGN 
TO  ATTACK  KINGSTON.— GENERAL  PIKE— TOWN  MEEliNG  Al' 
PHILAnFJ.PHIA.— GENERALS  Di:  VHBORN  AN.')  I'lKE  CAPi'LRE  YORK.— 
PiKK^S  bKATH.— INniAN  SCALP  IN  CANADIAN  PARLIAMENT  IIOl';t',.— 
REVol.rTION\RY  IM  !  VN  HARB ARITIES.— CAPTURKOF  FOR'I  UEOUCF, 
BY  THE  AMKIUCAK-'!.~HEPI'LSK  OF  THE  ENGLISH  BY  GENERAL  HROVVN 
AT  SACKETT'S  HAKHi'HR.— F.NORMOI>;  EXPENSES  OF  BORDER  AND 
LAKE  WAR.— GENEIIALS  Cl!.V.VT)LER  AND  WINDER  SURPRISED  AND 
CAPTURED  RY  GENERA.f  vTVCENT  AT  FORTY  MILE  CREEK.— COLON P:L 
BI'RN  RETRKAT.S— t;KN"L;ii.VL  LEWIS  ORDERED  TO  REINFORCE  Hi^T.- 
RECALLED  i:y  (;!:NERa!.  dearborn.— COLONEL  BOERSTLER-S  >VR- 
RENDER  AT  ]  HE  UKAVKil  DAMS.— GENERAL  DEARBORN  RFMOS  I'D 
FROM  COMMAND  OF  THE  NORTHFRN  ARMY.— SUCCEEDED  AD-INTKiUM 
BY  GENERAL  BOYD.— ORDERED  NOT  TO  ACT  OFFENSIVELY.— COOPi.D 
UP  N  FORT  GEORGE  ALL  SUMMER.— GENERAL  WILKINSON  TAKES 
COMMAND  THERE  IN  SEPTEAIBER.— STATE  AND  NUMBER  OF  THF- 
FORCES  AT  SACKETT'S  HARBOUR,  FORT  GEORGE  AND  CHAMPLAIN.— 
EXPEDITION  AGAINST  MONTREAL.— GENERALS  ARMSTRONG,  WIL- 
KINSON AND  HAMPTON.— THEIR  PLANS  AND  FEUDS.— HAMPTON  IN- 
VADES CANADA— IS  REPULSED  IN  SEPTEMBER,  AND  AGAIN  IN  OCTO- 
BER.--CHAU.NCEY  GETS  COMMA!  J  OF  LAKE  ONTARIO.— WILKINSON'S 
DESCi'NT  OF  THE  ST.  LAWRENCE  TO  ATTACK  MONTREAL.— DESCRIP- 
TION AND  DISASTERS  OF  THAT  VOYAGE.— BRAVE  AND  SUCCESSFUL 
RESISTANCE  OF  THE  ENGLISH.— BATTLE  OF  WILLIAMSBURG.— COR. 
RESPONDENCE  BETWEEN  HAMPTON  AND  WILKINSON.— HAMPTON 
REFUSES  TO  JOIN  WILKINSON,  WHO  ABANDONS  THE  EXPEDITION.— 
i'UBLIC  OPINION  RESPECTING  IT.— NEWSPAPER  ACCOUNTS.— GENE- 
RAL M'CLURE  DESTROYS  FORT  GEORGE,  AND  RETREATS  TO  FORT 
NIAGARA.— BURNS  QUEENSTOWN.— BRITISH  RETALIATE.— SURPRISE 
FORT  NIAGARA,  AND  LAY  WASTE  WESTERN  NEW  YORK.— IMPRES- 
SIONS AT  WASHINGTON.— BLUE-LIGHTS  REPORTED  BY  DECATUR,  AS 
SEEN  TO  GIVE  NOTICE  OF  HIS  MOVEMENTS.— ENGLISH  TRIUMPHS  IN 
EUROPE,  AND  AMERICA  EMBOLDEN  THEIR  WARFARE.— DISASTROUS 
CLOSE  OF  NORTHERN  CAMPAIGN  IN  1813. 

When  General  Hull's  surrender  fell  upon  the  executive  at 
Washington,  like  a  thunderbolt,  the  Secretary  of  War  was  of 
course  the  person  most  severely  scathed.  On  General  Dearborn's 
resignation  of  the  war  department,  at  the  close  of  JefTer-son's  ad- 
ministration, President  Madison  conferred  it  on  William  Euslis, 


CHAP.  IX.] 


GENERAL  ARMSTRONG. 


267 


who  had  represented  Boston,  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  was  an  honest,  intelligent,  worthy  gentleman,  without  com- 
manding talents,  called  upon  in  the  outset  of  the  war,  with  an 
unprepared  country,  a  divided  people,  reluctant  Congress,  and  a 
l.otious  senate,  for  the  exercise  of  talents,  which  miracles  could 
iiardly  have  rendered  successful.  His  sacrifice  to  public  indig- 
nation V"'s  deemed  indispensable  ;  not  by  the  president,  but  by 
rnembersof  Congress  of  his  party,  particularly  the  New  England 
■^miocrats,  of  whom  a  self-creatt-d  deputation  waited  on  Dr,  Eus- 
iis,  and,  without  the  slightest  hesitancy  on  liis  part,  prevailed  on 
him  forthwith  manfully  to  resign.  His  letter  of  resignation  imme- 
diately submitted  to  the  president,  was  answered  by  him  in  the 
kindest  and  most  soothing  manner,that  while  yielding  to  the  neces- 
sity of  their  parting,  Dr.  Eustis  would  carry  with  him  every  assur- 
ance of  Mr.  Madison's  unalterable  good  will,  which  was  after- 
wards proved  by  his  sending  him  minister  to  Holland  :  as  Eustis 
persevered  in  attachme'^t  to  Madison,  in  spite  of  attempts  by  the 
disafl'ected  to  draw  him  into  opposition. 

The  war  depart.nent  was  then  offered  to  Crawford,  always 
and  justly  a  favcarite  with  Madison,  but  he  had  the  good  sense 
to  decline  it,  as  he  had  no  military  experience,  and  though  little 
given  to  fear,  apprehensive  that  he  might  prove  unequal  to  so 
arduous  a  task.  Many  other  persons  were  thought  of  for  the  post. 
But,  upon  the  whole,  Madison  satisfied  himself  that  General 
Armstrong  would  be  the  best  selection,  who  was  at  that  time  a 
brigadier-general,  in  command  at  the  city  of  New  York.  Madi- 
son did  not  like  him,  nor  did  his  confidential  secretary  Monroe, 
who  held  Armstrong  in  aversion.  He  had  been  aid  to  General 
Gates,  in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  served  with  some  distinc- 
tion ;  was  the  reputed  author  of  the  reprobated  Newburg  letters 
on  disbanding  the  army,  married  into  the  Livingston  family  of 
New  York,  was  President  Jefferson's  minister  to  Napoleon, 
whose  military  and  arbitrary  government,  Jeflerson  strongly  dis- 
approved, and  whose  injustice  to  this  country  Armstrong  boldly 
denounced,  to  the  French  emperor's  great  annoyance.  General 
Armstrong  was  rather  tall  and  slender,  about  fifty  years  of  age 
when  secretary  of  war,  thought  clearly,  acted  with  decision,  and 
was  an  epigrammatic  writer,  biU  indolent.  It  was  said,  that  like 
''everal  others,  he  coveted  the  chief  command  of  the  American 
army,  with  the  title  of  Lieutenant  General :  and  it  is  possible  that 


w-m^i 


■'/M ' 


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[If     A      3    , 


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ill  r )  ^ 


268 


GENE  UAL     PIKE. 


[JUNE,  1813. 


when  he  (raiisferred  tlic  wnr  department  from  Washington  to 
Sackctt's  Harbour,  in  1813,  he  may  have  entertained  such  aspira- 
tions. II  -0,  they  could  not  have  been  realized,  because  Madison 
never  would  have  given  him  such  a  place,  which,  if  given  by  him 
to  any  one,  would  probably  have  been  intrusted  to  Monroe.  It 
is  but  just,  iiowever,  to  Madison,  to  qualify  this  mere  corijecture 
with  tiie  acknowledgment  that  no  man  with  the  executive  power 
of  appointment,  more  honestly  controlled  iiis  personal  predilec- 
tions in  executing  t!ie  trust. 

It  was  General  Armstrong's  plan,  as  secretary  of  the  war 
department,  that  'lie  Canadian  campaign  of  ISL'j  should  begin 
by  an  attack  on  Kingston,  where  the  English  naval  arma- 
ment on  Lake  Ontario  harboured,  and  the  head  quarters  of  thf; 
army  were  concentrated.  Commodore  Chauncey  then  held 
comTiand  of  the  lake ;  we  had  force  enough  under  Genera! 
Dearborn,  near  Lake  Champlain,  at  Sackett's  Harbour,  our 
naval  rendezvous,  and  along  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Niagara,  to 
warrant  such  an  attack,  which,  with  enterprising  commanders, 
would  have  been  undertaken  and  probably  succeeded  in  the 
destruction  of  the  English  fleet,  if  not  the  capture  of  Kingston. 
Indeed,  a  winter  invasion  in  sleighs  had  been  i'uggested,  but 
never  seriously  contemplated  ;  an  exploit,  however  feasible  and 
striking,  beyond  the  enterprise  of  those  with  whom  the  honour 
of  our  arms  was  then  held  in  abeyance.  The  oflicer,  in  that 
region,  of  most  promise,  more  looked  to  for  achievement  than 
any  other,  was  General  Pike,  whose  extremely  untoward  com- 
mencement at  tlie  afl'air  of  Odeltown,  in  November,  1812,  has 
been  mentioned.  Zebulon  Montgomery  Pike,  of  New  Jersey, 
was  a  regular  and  thorough  bred  soldier,  nearly  all  his  life  spent 
in  the  little  army  of  the  United  States,  and  one  of  the  very  few 
oflicers  not  spoiled  by  its  slow  advancement,  long  service  in  low 
grades  without  active  duty,  or  opportunity  of  actual  distinction, 
the  degeneracy  of  mere  drill  and  garrison  routine.  He  entered 
the  army  a  youth  when  it  consisted  of  only  a  kw  hundred  men, 
under  Washington's  presidency.  That  veteran  general,  with 
all  the  executive  authority  of  inftint  government  with  difficulty 
sustained  it  against  the  western  Indians,  protected  by  British 
posts  and  supplied  with  British  arms,  year  after  year  defeating 
our  insignificant  forces,  though  commanded  by  such  experienced 
officers  as  Generals  Harmer  and  Sinclair,  till  at  length  one  of 


■•*^)i- 


CHAP,  ixo 


WAR    MKKTIXn. 


269 


the  heroes  of  the  Revolution,  General  Wayne,  siiccecdetl  in 
worsting  the  savages  and  intitnidating  tiieir  Englisli  supporters 
to  the  groat  relief  h  id  joy  of  the  whole  country.  Wayne,  Wil- 
kinson, and  other  officers  of  those  petty  campaigns,  were  wel- 
comed at  Philadelphia,  then  the  federal  metropolis,  as  comman- 
ders who  had  nobly  rescued  our  borders  from  invasion.  Not 
many  years  before,  Washington  himself  served  his  apprentice- 
ship with  Braddock  in  similar  but  yet  more  deplorable  con- 
Hicf ;  and  Dr.  Franklin,  with  the  epaulettes  and  commission  of 
colonel,  sword  in  hand,  was  called  out  to  do  like  duty  against 
Indian  invaders,  alarming  the  inhabitants  of  Philadelj)hia  by 
their  terrifying  incursions.  Indian  conquest  and  massacre  at 
Wyoming,  receding,  but  fighting  step  by  step,  through  Pennsyl- 
vania, New  York,  Kentucky,  Ohio,  Michigan,  and  the  far  west, 
were  forced  from  extreme  east  to  extreme  west,  beyond  Chicago, 
and  driven  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior.  English  blood  had 
done  it,  delighting  in  aggression  and  malediction  and  the  hatred 
of  different  races,  adventurous,  rapacious  by  sea  and  land,  ani- 
mated by  love  of  liberty  and  love  of  gain,  whose  enjoyments 
are  often  ferocious,  and  recreations  the  destructive  chase,  the 
latiguing  journey,  the  perilous  voyage,  the  storm,  the  battle,  the 
explosion  by  steam,  restless  movements,  insatiable  covetousness, 
the  trinodal  power,  pleasure  and  impulse  of  activity,  energy,  and 
conquest.  After  serving  in  frontier  garrisons  through  twenty 
years  of  Washington's,  John  Adams',  Jefferson's,  and  Madison's 
administrations,  and,  at  the  end  of  that  long  period,  getting  no 
further  than  a  majority,  Major  Pike  began  at  last  lo  see  in  the 
war  of  1812,  some  prospects  of  the  more  rapid  renown  lie  sighed 
for.  On  the  20th  May,  1S12,  there  was  a  great  public  meeting  at 
Philadelphia,  to  embolden  government,  then  supposed  to  be — 
both  the  executive  and  legislative,  vacillating  and  apprehensive, 
not  only  of  the  English,  but  of  the  federal  opposition— to  em- 
bolden them  to  declare  war  and  cast  the  die.  It  was  a  numerous 
and  enthusiastic  popular  meeting  held  in  the  State  House  yard, 
close  to  the  hall  in  which  independence  had  been  declared  in  1776, 
a  meeting  which  talked  of  a  second  war  of  independence  and 
resistance  to  British  oppression,  by  maritime  wrongs  pronounced 
intolerable.  William  Jones,  soon  after  appointed  secretary  of  the 
navy,  having  represented  Philadelphia  in  Congress,  presided. 

23* 


■  ■^'" 


^■'■- 


270 


CAPTUUK    OK    YdRk'. 


:APR1L,  1813. 


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John  Hinns,  editor  of  the  Democratic  Press,  then  the  principal 
newspaper  of  Pennsylvania,  was  among  tiic  most  active  at  tliul 
meeting.  lie  was  the  intimate  friend  and  confidential  adviser  of 
Simon  Snyder,  Governor  of  Pennsylvania,  u  state  nearly  unani- 
mous for  the  war.  Of  the  twenty-three  niembers  of  tlie  Pennsyl- 
vania delegation  in  Congress,  during  the  war,  all  but  one  were 
elected  to  support  it,  and  both  the  senators.  The  resolutions  for 
war  at  that  town  meeting  were  unanimously  adopted  with  great 
enthusiasm  by  a  large  concourse.  Near  the  stage  stood  Major 
Pike,  in  a  plain  dress,  intently  listening  to  tlie  proceedings, 
which  he  seemed  to  regard  as  his  summons  to  promotion  and 
the  glory  he  had  for  many  years  in  vain  aspired  to. 

Within  a  twelvemonth,  Major  Pike  was  a  Lrigad'er  general, 
and  regarded  as  one  of  our  best  commanders.  On  the  25th  of 
April,  IS  13,  with  about  sixteen  hundred  picked  trooj)s.  Commo- 
dore Chauncey's  fleet  sailed  from  Sackett's  Harbour,  to  transport 
Generals  Pike  and  Dear!)orn,as  was  supposed  towards  Kingston. 
On  the  27th  of  that  month  and  year,  instead  of  Kingston,  the 
troops  were  landed  about  three  miles  from  York,  the  provincial 
capital  of  Upper  Canada.  Kingston,  at  the  eastern  end  of  Lake 
Ontario,  with  an  excellent  harbour,  contained  their  dock-yard 
and  naval  armaments.  York  or  Toronto,  so  called  from  an  old 
French  fort  near  the  western  end  of  the  lake,  was  a  more  con- 
siderable town  than  Kingston,  Init  without  so  good  a  harbour. 
Commodore  Chauncey's  ship,  the  Madison,  could  not  therefore 
approach  near  enough  to  fire  upon  York  :  but  the  commodore  in 
his  boat  was  constantly  at  hand,  superintending  wherever  he 
could  be  of  service,  while  his  flag  captain,  Elliot,  with  the  schoon- 
ers of  the  squadron,  beat  up  against  a  gale  of  head  wind,  within 
six  hundred  yards  of  the  town,  and  covered  the  landing,  effected 
in  spite  of  brave  resistance  by  the  English.  Mr.  McLean,  speaker 
of  the  Canadian  assembly,  was  killed  while  fighting  gallantly  as 
a  volunteer  in  the  ranks,  with  ;i  musket  on  his  shoulder;  Captain 
McNeal,  of  the  grenadiers,  was  also  killed,  and  his  company 
annihilated.  Our  troops  were  headed  by  Major  Forsyth,  of  North 
Carolina,  with  his  riflemen,  a  bold  and  dashing  soldier,  always 
forward  for  action,  who  on  this  occasion  sustained  it  with  great 
spirit  for  a  long  time.  General  Pike  headed  the  attack.  General 
Dearborn's  well-composed  official  account  of  it,  said  that  to  Ge- 
neral Pike  he  had  been  induced  to  confide  the  immediate  attack, 


!»•' 


niAP.  IX.] 


CAPTURE    OF     YORK', 


271 


from  a  knowledge  that  it  was  liis  wisli,  and  that  he  would  havo 
felt  mortified  had  it  not  been  given  to  him.  General  Shealli^says 
the  same  letter,  commandc.'d  the  Urilish  troops  in  person, collected 
in  a  wood  near  where  the  head  wind  compelled  ours  to  land,  suf- 
fering much,  says  Christie,  from  a  galling  fire.  Tiie  Americans, 
however,  Christie  adds,  accomplished  their  landing,  and  compelled 
the  Urilish  to  retire  with  loss,  after  a  desperate  contest ;  and  retreat 
to  their  works.  The  Americans  formed  under  Pike  where  they 
landed,  and  pushed  through  the  woods,  carrying  the  first  redoubt 
by  assault,  and  were  moving  upon  the  principal  entrenchment, 
when  the  magazine  house  was  blown  up  with  terrible  explosion 
and  slaughter,  destroying  between  one  and  two  liundred  of  our 
men,  and  some  of  theirs.  In  this  magaxinc  there  was  a  much 
larger  quantity  of  powder  than  for  the  defence  of  the  place.  The 
explosion  was  tremendous;  not  only  scattering  destruction  about 
where  it  took  place,  but  affecting  even  the  American  vessels  on 
the  lake,  which  covered  the  landing  of  our  men.  Uoth  Oeneral 
Pike's  aids  were  killed:  as  Montgomery  and  his  two  aids  fell 
at  Quebec.  The  English  commander,  SheafTo,  said  to  be  a  Uos- 
tonian  by  birth,  denied  this  vile  stratagem,  alleging  the  death  of 
several  of  the  English,  as  proof  that  it  was  merely  accidental. — 
Cut  Christie  is  explicit  in  confession  of  it.  The  stones  and  rub- 
bish were  thrown  as  far  as  the  decks  of  our  vessels  near  the 
shore,  and  the  water  shocked  as  with  an  earthquake.  Pike  was 
literally  stoned  to  death,  after  victory  bravely  won  :  his  breast 
and  sides  were  cruslied,  and  he  lingered  in  great  agony  till  he 
expired.  Just  as  he  was  lifted  from  the  ground,  hearing  a  shout, 
he  inquired  what  it  was  for.  An  American  serjeaiit  near  him 
answered,  the  British  union  jack  is  coming  down,  the  stars  and 
stripes  are  going  up  on  the  fortifications.  He  was  revived  by 
this  ;  and  our  men,  necessarily  thrown  into  some  confusion  by  tlie 
destructive  explosion,  were  immediately  brought  jo  order,  by 
Colonel  Cromwell  Pearce,  of  the  Kith  regiment  of  infantry,  ou 
wiiom,  by  Pike's  fall,  the  command  devolved.  Carried  on  board 
the  commodore's  ship,  General  Pike  was  laid  on  a  matress,  asked 
for  tlie  British  captured  flag  to  be  placed  under  his  head,  and  in 
a  few  hours,  nobly  breathed  his  last  upon  it  without  a  .^igh.  His 
heroic  death  the  27th  of  April,  Cajitain  Lawrence's,  after  the  loss 
of  the  frigate  Chesapeake,  on  the  first  of  June,  Lieutenant  Wil- 
liam Burrowes'  on  tiie  deck  of  the  schooner  Enterprise,  while 


m 


272 


CAPTURK    OF     YCiKlv, 


[AI'IIIL,  1F13. 


cnptnriiii,'  the  hrii?  HoxtT,  on  (lie  iirst  ol' So|)tcmb{!r,  and  Gcsnoral 
Covington's  the  loth  ot  .Novernl)t!r, at  the  battle  of  WiHiainsbnrg, 
that  year,  wens  events  whicli  made  great  sensation  ;  one  and  all, 
they  were  impressive  instances  of  that  noble  patriotism  which 
elevates  men  and  corroborates  nations.  Pike  and  Covington,  at 
the  head  of  their  troops,  J^;iwrence  and  limuowes  on  the  decks 
of  vessels  of  war,  self-sacrificed  to  tiieir  conntry  by  noble  deatlis, 
were  among  the  first  and  greatest  contributors  to  the  national 
power  and  long-enjoyed  prosperity  of  the  United  States.  For  in 
vain  is  peace  solicited  and  cultivated  witiiout  aptitude  for  war. 
p^tfort,  hardship,  exploit,  are  national  as  well  us  individual  wages 
of  repose  and  respect. 

General  J)carboru  let  the  English  General  SheafTe  escape 
with  the  regular  troops,  who  made  good  their  retreat,  when,  if 
either  Pike  or  Dearborn  liad  been  present,  the  whole  of  them 
might  and  should  have  been  taken  prisoners.  Before  the  attack 
Pike  urged  Dearborn,  and  he  consented  to  let  Pike  command, 
and  the  commander-in-chief  remained  three  miles  off,  on  board 
Commodore  Chauncey's  ship,  the  Madison.  Ilisonicial  dispatch 
reported  that  the  attack  was  within  his  view :  which  nmst  have 
been  a  distant  and,  for  all  the  purposes  of  assistance  or  counsel, 
useless  view.  The  consequence  of  his  absence  was  that,  by 
by  Pike's  fall,  the  command  devolved  on  Colonel  Pearce,  a  brave 
ollicer,  but  uninformed  as  he  was,  of  the  plan  of  operations,  he 
thought  proper,  after  rallying  the  troops  from  the  momentary 
effect  of  the  explosion,  to  send  for  General  Dearborn,  before 
wliose  arrival  at  the  scene  of  action,  Sheaffe,  with  his  roldiers, 
had  effected  their  escape,  leaving,  says  Dearborn's  report  of  the 
affair,  the  commanding  officer  of  the  militia  to  make  the  best 
terms  he  could.  Dy  the  capitulation  then  agreed  upon  between 
that  officer,  Colonel  Chewitt,  and  Lieutenant-Colonel  George  E. 
Mitchell,  Major  Samuel  Conner,  General  Dearborn's  aid.  Major 
William  King,  and  Lieutenant  Elliott  of  the  navy,  some  hun- 
dred Canadian  militia,  most  of  them  natives  of  the  United  States, 
were  surrendered,  but  paroled  on  the  spot.  A  large  quantity  of 
stores  were  taken,  which,  soon  after,  by  another  mistake,  were 
burned  at  Sackett's  Harbour,  and  a  large  vessel  on  the  stocks 
was  reduced  to  ashes  at  York.  But,  excepting  these  hardly 
equivalents  for  our  loss,  the  account  of  that  day  was  300  Ameri- 
cans lost  for  500  of  the  enemy,  not  many  killed,  the  rest  wounded 


CHAP.  IX.] 


INDIAN    ALLIAN'CK. 


273 


or  taken.  With  the  English  pcnc'ral's  nmsical  sniifl'-hox,  whirli 
was  an  object  of  much  atttuition  to  sonic  of  oiir  ollicors,  and  tho 
scalp  which  INIajor  Forsytii  found  suspended  over  the  speaktsr's 
cliair,  in  tho  parliament  housi;,  wo  gained  hut  harieti  honour  hy 
tlic  capture  of  Yoil\,of  wliicli  no  permaiu^nt  [tossession  was  taken. 
After  two  or  three  days  spent  there  emitarking  the  booty,  amoiiij 
which  llK-re  was  a  quantity  of  wine,  Chaunccy's  s(|uadron  re- 
shi|)ped  th(!  troo|)s,  and  left  York  with  the  scalp  taken  as  sus- 
pended, with  the  mace  of  the  sergeant-at-arms,  near  the  speak- 
er's chair  (killed  in  the  action)  in  the  parliament  house  of  the 
provincial  legislature.  Tliis  atrocious  ornament  of  such  a  place 
was  sent  to  the  sc'cretary  of  war,  General  Armstrong,  who  re- 
fused to  receive  or  sutfer  it  to  remain  in  his  cabinet.  'I'lie  fact  of 
its  discovery  and  where  found,  were  certified  by  the  following 
olliciul  d:spatch: — 

"United  States  Ship  Madison,  Sackett's  IlAnBorn,> 

Alh  June,  1813.      S 

"Sir:  I  have  tlie  honour  to  present  to  you,  by  the  hands  of 
Lieutenant  Dudley,  the  British  standard  taken  at  York  on  the 
27lh  April  last,  accompanied  by  the  mace  omf  v:hich  hung  a 
human  scalp.  These  articles  were  taken  from  the  parliament 
house  by  one  of  my  ollicers  and  presented  to  me.  The  scalp  I 
caused  to  be  presented  to  Oencral  Dearborn,  who,  I  believe,  still 
has  it  ill  his  possession.  I  also  send,  by  tho  same  gentleman, 
one  of  the  British  tiags  taken  at  Fort  George  on  the  27th  May. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  be,  very  respectfully,  sir,  your  most 
obedient  humble  servant, 

"ISAAC  CIIAUNCEY. 

"  HoNOURAnLE  Wm.  Jones, 

^^Secretai'y  of  the  Navy,  JVashington.''^ 


In  the  Prince  Regent  of  Great  Britain's  formal  manifesto  to 
the  world  of  the  causes  of  war,  and  vindication  of  it  from  what 
that  authentic  document  denies  as  American  misrepresentations, 
there  is  a  peremptory  denial  of  reiterated  complaints  of  this 
country,  that  England  instigated  the  Indians  to  inhuman  war- 
fare. Proof  of  the  contrary,  that  manifesto  averred,  had  been 
oflered  by  the  English  minister,  Foster,  to  our  goverimient,  and 
of  the  opposite  policy  uniformly  pursued  by  Great  Britain.    Y''et 


i  t. 


■fk  '■ ' 


'  <   i^. 


7h 


% 


•A 
1 
''I 

4 


•V 


*^' 

^i:-. 

,  '*'<,< 

> 

1 

i ' '' 

'M^' 

•    • 

t'   ' 

t      V 

iir 

1 

-%^ 

.    /^ 

i^v 

r*"'. 

If^' 

Kl^ 

,    .i    - 

^ 

^lils^' 

^Hr  n 

■^  I.  «(*•<  ^" . 

w^j^  *i 

:h*\- 

274 


INDIAN    ALLIES. 


[1783. 


the  Canadian  parliament,  f-^kcn  with  the  scalp,  was  Air  from 
being  the  only  one  of  nuinerons  convictions  of  monstrons  and 
unnatural  inhumanity,  solemnly  denied  by  the  British  govern- 
ment. 

English  subornation  of  the  Indians  to  exercise  their  barbarous 
brutalities  on  the  Americans  were  the  chief  reliance  and  most 
effectual  arm  of  Great  Britain,  throughout  both  the  first  and  the 
second  wars,  waged  by  her  for  subjugation  of  the  United  States. 
That  unnatural  inhumanity  fomented  evil  and  incurable  animo- 
sity between  the  white  and  red  races  which  have  caused  the 
Indians  to  he  nearly  exterminated.  In  both  those  wan^,  Eng- 
land had  a  greater  number  of  Indians  in  arms  than  Europeans 
employed  against  the  Americans.  Subjoined  is  an  account  of 
the  Indian  nations  employed  by  the  British  in  the  revolutionary 
war,  with  the  number  of  warriors  attached  to  each  nation,  as 
pubhshed  at  Philadelphia  in  August,  17S3,  by  Captain  Dalton, 
superintendent  of  Indian  affairs,  viz.: — 


Choctaws 

600 

Onondagas 

300 

Chickasaws 

400 

Cayugas 

230 

Cherokees 

500 

Jensckaws  (Senecas) 

400 

Creeks 

700 

Sacs  and  Sotluise 

1300 

Plankishaws 

400 

Putawawtawmaws 

400 

Oniactmaws 

300 

Tula  win 

150 

Kicknpoos 

500 

Muskulthe  (or  nation 

of 

Munseys 

150 

fire) 

250 

Delawares 

500 

Reimes  or  Foxes 

300 

Shawanaws 

300 

Puyon 

350 

Mohickons 

00 

Sokkie 

450 

Uchipweys 

3000 

Abinok'  \i  or  the  St. 

Ottaways 

300 

Lawrence 

200 

Mohawks 
Oneidas 

300 
150 

Warriors 

12,690 

Tuscaroras 

200 

Indisputable  proof  abounds  to  convict  British  agents  and 
military  ollicers  of  that  guilt.  The  defeat  and  flight  of  General 
Proctor's  army  on  the  5th  October,  1813,  placed  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  American  commander,  the  correspondence  and  papers 
of  the  British  officers.      Selected  from  the  documents  which 


CHAP.  IX.] 


INDIAN    ALLIES. 


275 


were  obtained  upon  that  occasion,  the  contents  of  a  few  letters" 
characterize  the  whole  mass.  In  these  letters,  written  by  Mr. 
McKee,  the  British  agent,  to  Colonel  England,  the  commander 
of  the  British  troops,  superscribed  "  on  his  Majesty's  service," 
and  dated  during  the  montiis  of  July  and  August,  1794,  the 
period  of  General  Wayne's  successful  expedition  against  the 
Indians,  it  appears  that  the  scalps  taken  by  the  Indians  were 
sent  to  the  British  establishment  at  th  ^  rapids  of  the  Miami ; 
that  the  hostile  operations  of  the  Indians  were  concerted  with 
the  British  agents  and  officers;  that  when  certain  tribes  of 
Indians,  "having  completed  the  belts  they  carried  with  scalps 
and  prisoners,  and  being  without  provisions,  resolved  on  going 
liome,  it  was  lamented  that  his  majesty's  posts  wouUi  derive  no 
security  from  the  late  great  influx  of  Indians  into  that  part  of 
the  country,  should  they  persist  in  their  determination  of  return- 
ing so  soon;"  that  "the  British  agents  were  imi.jediately  to 
hold  a  council  at  the  Glaze,  in  order  to  try  if  they  could  prevail 
on  the  Lake  Indians  to  remain,  but  that  without  provisions  and 
ammunition  being  sent  to  that  place,  it  was  conceived  to  be 
extremely  diliicult  to  keep  them  together;"  and  "  that  Colonel 
England  was  making  great  exertions  to  supply  the  Indians  with 
provisions."  The  language  of  the  correspondence  becomes  at 
length  so  plain  and  direct  that  it  is  impossible  to  avoid  the  con- 
clusion of  a  governmental  agency  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain, 
in  advising,  aiding  and  conducting  the  Indian  war,  while  she 
professed  friendshipand  peace  towards  the  United  States.  "Scouts 
are  sent  (says  Mr.  McKee  to  Colonel  England),  to  view  the  situa- 
tion of  the  American  army,  and  loe  noiv  muster  one  thousand 
Indians.  All  the  Lake  Indians  from  Ingana  downwards,  shop'd 
not  lose  one  moment  in  joining  their  brethren,  as  every  accession 
of  strength  is  an  addition  to  their  spirits."  And  again  :  "  I  havo 
been  employed  several  days  in  endeavouring  to  fix  the  Indians, 
who  have  been  driven  from  their  villages  and  cornfields,  between 
the  fort  and  the  bay.  Swan  cieek  is  generally  agreed  upon, 
and  will  be  a  very  convenient  place  for  the  delivery  of  provi- 
sions," &c.  Whether,  under  the  various  proofs  of  the  British 
agency  in  exciting  Indian  hostilities  against  the  United  States, 
in  a  time  of  peace,  presented  in  the  course  of  the  present  narra- 
tive, tlie  priii;!e  regent's  declaration,  that  "  before  the  war  began 
a  policy  th'3  most  opposite  had  been  uniformly  pursued,"  by  the 


«■'■ 

ib 


A'- 

17''. 

i-: 

■M 
if,' 


¥2,hi 


"»{*' 


if" 


276 


INDIAN    ALLIES. 


[1782. 


iBritisli  government,  is  to  be  ascribed  to  a  want  of  information, 
era  want  of  candour,  the  American  government  is  not  disposed 
more  particularly  to  invesMgate,  says  Dallas's  exposition  of  tiie 
causes  and  character  of  the  war,  from  which  this  part  of  ray 
statement  comes.  At  all  times,  in  war  and  in  peace,  from  the 
commencement  of  hostilities,  in  1776,  to  the  peace  of  1783,  from 
that  time  tlu'oughout  the  period  of  witliholding  the  western  posts, 
in  violation  of  that  treaty  and  tlie  reiterated  expostulations  of 
President  Washington  ;  throughout  the  war  of  1S12  to  the  treaty 
of  Ghent,  which  was  nearly  frustrated  by  the  English  commis- 
sioners insisting  on  Indian  reservations,  jurisdiction  and  sove- 
reignty; at  all  times  this  odious  interference  and  unworthy 
reliance  have  never  ceased.  Further  proof  of  a  character  so 
disgusting  as  to  seem  incredible,  is  derived  from  the  English 
respectable  publication,  in  London,  by  Ahnon,  of  authentic  state 
papers,  as  follows  : — 

E  tract  of  a  letter  from  Captain  Gerrish,  of  the  New  England 
militia,  dated  Albany,  March  7th: — 

"The  peltry  taken  in  the  expedition  will,  you  see,  amount  to 
a  good  deal  of  money.  The  possession  of  this  booty  at  first  gave 
us  pleasure  ;  but  we  were  struck  wiih  horror  to  find  among  the 
packages,  eight  large  ones  containing  scalps  of  our  unfortunate 
country  folks,  taken  in  the  tinee  last  years  by  the  Seneca  Indians, 
from  the  inhabitants  of  the  frontiers  of  New  York,  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  and  sent  by  them  as  a  present  to 
Colonel  Ilaldir  :ind,  Governor  of  Canada,  in  order  to  be  by  hini 
transmitted  to  England;  they  were  accompanied  by  the  following 
curious  letter  to  that  gentleman  : 


f  ,  ' 

» J. 

ii*  '■' 

.   .• 

^  -m 

f 

mi 

1 

m¥ 


"  Tioga,  Jamiary  2d,  1782. 
"  May  it  please  your  excellency — 

"  At  the  request  of  the  Seneca  chiefs,  I  herewith  send  to  your 
excellency,  'Mider  the  care  of  James  Boyd,  eight  packages  of 
scalps,  cured,  dried,  iiooped  and  painted,  with  all  the  Indian  tri- 
umphal marks,  of  which  the  folio  »ving  is  invoice  and  explana- 
jion  : 

"No.  1. — Containing  43  scalps  of  Congress  soldiers,  killed  in 
different  skirmishes  ;  these  are  stretched  on  black  hoops,  4  inch 
diameter,  the  inside  of  the  skin  painted  red,  with  a  small  black 
spot,  to  note  tlieir  being  killed  with  bullets;  also,  62  of  farmers. 


FTv, 


CHAP.  IX.] 


INDIAN    ALLIANCE. 


277 


your 
k's  of 
III  tri- 

latia- 

id  in 

iiicli 

|l)laclc 

liners, 


killed  in  their  houses;  the  hoops  painted  red,  the  skin  painted 
brown,  and  marked  with  a  hoe,  a  black  circle  all  around,  to  de- 
note their  being  surprised  in  the  night,  and  a  black  hatchet  in  the 
middle,  signifying  their  being  killed  with  that  weapon. 

"No.  2.— Containing  98  of  farmers  killed  in  their  houses  :  hoops 
red,  figure  of  a  hoe  to  mark  their  profession,  great  white  circle 
and  sun,  to  show  they  were  surprised  in  the  day  time,  a  little  red 
foot,  to  show  they  stood  upon  their  defence,  and  died  fighting  for 
their  lives  and  families. 

"''"''.  .3. — Containing  97  of  farmers:  hoops  green,  to  show  they 
we. .  ulled  in  the  fields  ;  a  large  white  circle,  with  a  httle  round 
mark  on  it,  for  the  sun,  to  show  it  was  in  the  day  time  ;  black 
bullet  mark  on  some,  a  hatchet  on  others. 

"  No.  4. — Containing  102  of  farmers,  mixed  of  several  of  the 
marks  above,  only  18  marked  with  a  little  yellow  flame,  to  denote 
their  being  of  prisoners  burnt  alive,  after  being  scalped,  their  nails 
pulled  out  by  the  roots,  and  other  torments  :  one  of  these  latter, 
supposed  to  be  an  American  clergyman,  his  hand  being  fixed  to 
the  hoop  of  liis  ::^calp.  Most  of  the  farmers  appear  by  the  hair 
to  have  been  young  or  middle  aged  men,  there  being  but  67 
very  gray  heads  among  them  all,  which  makes  the  service  more 
essential. 

"  No.  5. — Containing  88  scalps  of  women  ;  hair  long,  braided 
in  the  Indian  fashion,  to  show  they  were  mothers  ;  hoop-  I  i  ie, 
skin  yellow  ground,  with  little  red  lad-poles,  to  repiesent  by  way 
of  triumph,  the  tears  or  grief  occasioned  to  their  relations  ;  a  black 
scalt)ing  knife  or  hatchet  at  the  bottom,  to  mark  their  being  killed 
by  those  instruments;  17  others,  hair  very  gray,  )  "n-'k  hoops, 
plain  brown  colour;  no  mark  but  the  short  club  or  coup-tete,  to 
show  they  were  knocked  down  dead,  or  had  their  brains  beat  out. 

"No.  6. — Containing  190  boys' scalps  of  various  ages:  small 
green  hoops,  whitish  ground  on  the  skin,  with  red  scars  in  the 
middle,  and  black  marks,  knife,  hatchet  or  club,  as  their  death 
happened. 

"  No.  7. — Containing21 1  girls'  scalps,  big  and  little  :  small  yel- 
low hoops,  white  ground  ;  tears,  hatchet,  club,  scalping  knife,  &c. 

**  No.  8. — This  package  is  a  mixture  of  all  the  varieties  above 
mentioned,  to  the  number  of  122,  with  a  box  of  birch  bark,  con- 
taining 29  little  infants*  scalps,  of  various  sizes ;  small  white  hoops, 
VOL.  I.— 24 


■     1^'- 


.!■ 


i:m^^- 


/>.''•■•■'•'■      " 

i'-: ■/■ .  -^  ;■ 

IH;,:- .■i.;,  :<f  '.; 


278 


INDIAN    ALLIANCE. 


[1782. 


white  ground,  no  tears,  and  only  a  little  black  knife  in  the  middle, 
to  show  they  were  ripped  out  of  their  mothers'  bellies. 

"With  these  packs,  the  chiefs  send  to  your  excellency  the  fol- 
lowing speech,  delivered  by  Corniogatchie  in  council,  interpreted 
by  the  elder  Moore,  the  trader,  and  taken  down  by  me  in  writing. 

"  *  Fathtr.  We  send  you  herewith  many  scalps,  that  you  may 
see  we  are  not  idle  friends.     (A  blue  belt.) 

"  '  Father.  Wo  wish  you  to  send  three  scalps  over  the  water  to 
the  great  King,  that  he  may  regard  them,  and  be  refreshed,  and 
that  he  may  see  our  faithfulness  in  destroying  his  enemies,  and  be 
convinced  that  his  presents  have  not  been  made  to  an  ungrateful 
people.     (A  blue  and  white  belt  with  red  tassels.) 

"  '  Father.  Attend  to  what  I  am  now  going  to  say,  it  is  a  mat- 
ter of  much  weight.  The  Great  King's  enemies  are  many,  and 
they  grow  fast  in  numbers.  They  were  formerly  like  young 
panthers,  they  could  neither  bite  nor  scratch,  we  could  flay  with 
them  safely,  we  feared  nothing  they  could  do  to  us.  But  now 
their  bodies  have  become  as  big  as  the  elk,  and  strong  as  the  buf- 
falo; they  have  also  got  great  and  sharp  claws,  '^''hey  have 
driven  us  out  of  our  country  for  taking  part  in  your  <ii\  irel:  we 
expect  the  Great  King  will  give  us  another  countiy,that  our 
children  may  live  after  us,  and  be  his  friends  and  children  as  we 
are.  Say  this  for  us  to  our  Great  King ;  to  enforce  it,  give  this 
belt.     (A  great  white  belt  with  blue  tassels.) 

''  '■Father.  We  have  only  to  say  further,  that  your  traders  exact 
more  than  ever  for  their  goods,  and  our  hunting  is  lessened  by 
the  war,  so  that  we  have  fewer  skins  to  give  for  them.  This 
ruins  us:  think  of  some  remedy — we  are  poor;  and  you  have 
plenty  of  everything;  we  know  you  will  send  us  powder  and 
guns,  and  knives  and  hatchets ;  but  we  also  want  shirts  and 
blankets.     (A  little  white  belt.') 

"  I  do  not  doubt  but  that  your  excellency  will  think  it  proper 
to  give  some  further  encouragement  to  those  honest  people.  The 
high  prices  they  complain  of,  are  the  necessary  effect  of  the  war. 

"  Whatever  presents  may  be  sent  for  them  through  my  hands, 
shall  be  distributed  with  prudence  and  fidelity.  I  have  the 
honour  of  being  your  excellency's  most  obedient  and  most  hum- 
ble servant, 

"JAMES  CRAWFURD." 


CHAP.  IX.] 


SIR    JAMES     YEO, 


279 


With  such  memorials  in  print,  of  the  use  made  by  England  of  the 
American  Indians  in  one  war,  it  is  no  wonder  that  theii  barbari- 
ties.were  for  a  long  time  the  most  potent  Fnglish  ofl'cnsive  means 
in  another.  Dread  of  the  scalping  knife  and  tonialiawlc  did  more 
to  save  Canada  for  England,  than  the  e([uivocal  loyalty  of  her 
Canadian  subjects,  the  skill,  valour,  and  admirable  tactics  of  her 
best  ollicers  and  soldiers.  To  dread  of  the  savages  alone  Hull 
g  ive  way  when  he  first  faltered.  That  dread  took  him  back  from 
Sandwich  to  Detroit;  overcame  him  to  surrender  Detroit,  much 
more  than  hostile  attack  by  civilized  men  in  arms.  They  do 
but  capture,  wound,  or  kill  enemies.  But  Indians  torture,  muti- 
late, murder,  put  to  death  with  aggravations,  ^ir  worse  than  mere 
homicide.  Dread  of  the  Indians  struck  the  militia  with  panic, 
when  they  dared  not  pass  over  to  rescue  their  countrymen  at 
Queenstown.  Dread  of  them  induced  Colonel  Boerstler  to 
surrender,  as  we  shall  soon  see,  to  an  inferior  force  which  he 
miglit  have  resisted.  Dread  of  the  Indians  multiplied  their 
numbers  and  powers  so  fearfully  to  American  recollections, 
that  Indian  barbarities  were  by  far  the  most  formidable  of  Eng- 
lish means  of  hostility  against  the  United  States. 

Attacking  York  instead  of  Kingston  was  a  departure  from  the 
plan  of  the  secretary  of  war  which  had  no  good  results.  Dear- 
born was  easily  persuaded  by  Chauncey,  who  expected,  by  de- 
stro^'ing  or  taking  a  large  English  vessel  at  York,  to  secure  the  naval 
co»;miand  of  the  lake.  But  that  vessel  had  left  York  before  the 
amval  of  our  troops:  and,  instead  of  rendering  Chauncey  the 
strongest,  gave  the  superiority  to  a  new  British  commander,  Sir 
James  Lucas  Yeo,  transferred  from  his  frigate,  the  Southampton, 
on  the  West  India  station,  and  arriving  early  in  May  at  Kingston 
with  450  seamen  and  several  naval  ollicers.  Yeo  proved  a  pru- 
dent, skilful  and  able  commander,  who  at  least  kept  pace  with  our 
commodori  in  the  race  of  ship-building,  prosecuted  at  Sackett's 
Harbour  and  Kingston,and,  after  dividing  the  command  of  the  lake 
with  Chauncey  all  sunnner,  at  last  had  the  good  fortune  to  save 
the  English  fleet  from  destruction  by  flight  when,  perhaps,  Chaun- 
cey might  have  destroyed  it  by  boldness.  General  Armstrong 
preferred  beginning  at  Kingston,  at  the  east  end  of  Lake  Ontario, 
instead  of  York  and  Fort  George  at  the  west,  where  General 
Dearborn  and  Conunodore  Chauncey  made  their  first  assault. 
After  stripping  York  of  the  booty,  soon  to  be  sacrificed  at  Sack- 


if    I,  '•. 


^riS^'l^i-.: 


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280 


FORT    GEORGE. 


[MAY,  1813. 


ett's  Harbour,  Channcey  landed  Dearborn  with  his  troops  near 
J'orl  (Joorge,  returning  with  his  captured  stores  to  Sackett's 
Harbo'ir,  thence  to  transport  General  Chandler's  brigade  and 
Colonel  McConib's  ri^ginient  to  the  Niagara  to  serve  with  Dear- 
born in  capturing  Fort  George. 

A  month  of  pre  iaus  time  was  consumed  before  the  attack  of 
Fort  George,  and  then  again  the  commander-in-chief  remained 
on  board  a  vessel,  while  his  army,  6000  strong,  attacked  and 
carried  that  place.  Again  the  defeated  enemy  was  permitted  to 
escape.  The  capture  of  Fort  George  was  the  first  extensive 
'^lilitary  operation  of  the  war,  tliough  expended  upon  an  insig- 
nificant object:  a  combined  assault,  as  at  York,  bv  army  and. 
nnvy,  in  which  Generals  Lewis,  Chandler,  Boyd,  and  Winder 
^t-.e  with  their  brigades,  Colonels  Scott  and  McComb  with  their 
r.  j'iments,  and  many  othc  meritorious  oilicers  of  the  army  ;  toge- 
ther witli  Commodore  Chauncey,  Captain  Perry,  and  Lieutenant 
Elliott,  with  other  naval  oilicors.  Courage,  enterprise  and  skill 
were  displayed,  without  adequate  combination  or  execution. 
Vincent,  the  British  general,  alter  stout  resistance,  completely 
defeated,  with  considerable  loss,  etlected  his  retreat,  as  Sheaffe 
had  done  from  York,  probably  without  Dearborn's  even  knowing 
it,  for  he  stayed  on  ship-board,  till  it  was  too  late  to  prevent  Vin- 
cent and  Sheatle  shaking  hands  in  the  mountain  passes  of  that 
region,  where  they  wee  enabled  to  employ  the  British  soldiers 
which  ours  might  have  captured — to  employ  them  in  attacking, 
defeating  and  capturuig  ours  during  all  the  rest  of  that  year  of 
discomfitures. 

By  singular  coincidence,  within  forty-eight  hours  of  the  cap- 
ture of  Fort  George,  the  Governor-General  Prevost,  with  Com- 
modore Yeo,  Adjutant-General  Baynes,  and  about  1000  soldiers, 
undertook  to  retaliate  on  Sackei'  s  Harbour  for  our  attack  on 
York.  Their  selection  of  our  naval  rend'^vous  showed  that 
we  should  have  selected  thv^irs  for  attack.  The  inconsiderable 
force  they  led  from  theirs  proved  that  with  the  force  we  misapplied 
in  the  useless  capture  of  Fort  George,  as  it  turned  out  to  be,  we 
should  have  struck  a  blow  with  (JOOO  men  at  Kingston,  which 
might  have  been  fatal  to  British  power  in  Canada,  and  opened  a 
way  to  Montreal  in  Juut;,  instead  of  the  wretched  attempt  Wil- 
kinson and  Hampton  made  to  get  there  in  November.  The 
genius  of  mismanagement  seemed  to  lead  our  armies  for  tiie 


CHAP.  IX.] 


SACKETT'S     HARBOUR. 


281 


conquest  of  Canada.  Prcvost  and  Yeo,  with  ships,  boats,  and 
other  means  of  assault,  except  adeiiuate  artillery,  proceeded 
from  Kingston  to  Sackett's  Harbour,  wliile  Dearborn  and  Chaun- 
cey  were  on  the  Niagara,  and  on  the  29th  May,  opened  the 
English  campaign  with  a  defeat.  The  American  force  there 
was  extremely  weak.  At  first  the  English  had  some  success, 
driving  in  the  militia  and  exciting  such  alarm  that  a  naval  oflicer 
burned  all  the  stores  captured  at  York,  and  our  ship,  the  General 
Pike,  on  the  stocks,  was  in  danger.  IJut  the  few  regular  troops 
at  the  place,  headed  by  General  Jacob  Brown,  a  neighbouring 
militia  officer,  requested  by  the  regular  officers  to  take  command, 
repulsed  Uaynes  and  compelled  the  British  to  retreat,  after  losing 
a  good  many  men,  whom  they  left  both  dead  and  wounded  to 
the  care  of  their  enemies,  which  was  a  common  thing  with  them 
during  the  war.  General  Brown,  no  soldier  by  profession,  was 
one  of  those  natural  offsprings  of  war,  who  seem  born  to  excel 
in  it,  a  man  stout  of  person,  strong  of  nerve,  bold,  brave,  saga- 
cious, full  of  resource,  indefatigable,  whose  exploits,  after  tliis 
introduction  to  them,  were  among  the  most  brilliant  of  that  war. 
His  own  account  of  his  first  essay  under  fire  arms,  short  and 
characteristic,  deserves  incorporation  entire  with  this  narrative. 

»Mmj  29//i,  1813. 
"  We  were  attacked  at  the  dawn  of  this  day  by  a  British  regu- 
lar force  of  at  least  900  men,  most  probably  1200.  They  made 
their  landing  at  Horse  Island.  The  enemy's  fleet  consistcl  of 
two  ships  and  four  schooners,  and  thirty  large  open  boats.  Wo 
are  completely  victorious.  The  enemy  lost  a  considerable  nunv 
bar  of  killed  and  wounded,  on  the  field,  among  the  number 
several  officers  of  distinction.  After  havin^r  re-embarked,  they 
sent  me  a  fiag  dosirino;  to  have  their  killed  and  wounded 
attended  to.  I  mnde  them  satisfied  on  that  subject,  ^^r/irricans 
iviH  he  distinguished  for  hutnanilij  and  brariTi/.  Our  loss  is 
not  numerous,  but  serious  from  the  great  wonli  of  those  who 
have  fallen.  Colonel  Mills  was  shot  dead  at  the  commencement 
of  the  antion  ;  and  Colonel  Backus,  of  the  lirst  regiment  of  light 
dragoons,  nobly  fell  at  the  head  of  his  regiment,  as  victory  was 
declaring  for  us.  I  will  not  presume  to  praise  this  regiment ; 
their  gallant  conduct  on  this  day  merits  much  more  than  praise. 
The  new  ship,  and  Commodore  Chauncey's  prize,  the  Duke  of 

24* 


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^H 

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282 


GENERAL    BROWN. 


[MAY,  1813. 


tV)  in  Sackett's  Harbour.     Sir  George  Prevost 


Gloucesite^      '■ 

landed  ai'  .  "ided  in  person— Sir  James  Yco  commaudeJ 

the  enemy's  lleet. 

"  In  haste,  yours,  &c., 

"JACOli  BROWN." 

General  Brown  was  a  Pennsylvania  Quaker,  a  village  school- 
master not  far  Ironi  Philadelphia;  and  soon  rose,  like  Greene 
in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  to  military  eminence  ;  two  men 
of  genius  for  military  atlairs,  only  second,  if  that,  to  the  first 
military  commanders  of  this  country  ;  Greene  and  Hrown,  of 
whom  it  was  jocularly  said  that  both  proved  true  blue.  That 
roving  spirit  of  frontier  adventure  which  naturally  grows  from 
the  American  mother  earth,  dislodging  so  many  enterprising  men 
from  the  homes  of  their  nativity,  took  Brown  to  the  borders  of 
Canada.  The  clouds  of  disrepute  through  which  nearly  all  men 
must  make  their  way  to  distinction,  discredited  him  as  having 
acquired  his  familiarity  with  that  region  as  a  contrabandist,  before 
his  superior  talents  were  displayed  there  as  a  warrior.  If  so, 
illicit  gain  by  such  means  may  be  more  ignoble,  but  is  it  more 
unwarrantable  than  extensive  pillage  and  depredation  such  as 
those  practised  who  perhaps  first  uttered  this  disparagement  of 
a  brave  man,  to  be  disseminated  by  the  enemies  of  his  country  ? 

The  British  repulse  at  Sackett's  Harbour  was  the  last  Ameri- 
can success  in  1S13,  on  Lake  Ontario  or  the  St.  Lawrence, 
where  the  enemy's  good  fortune  afterwards  never  failed,  except 
in  Chauncey's  partial  success  on  the  lake.  On  the  land  the  Eng- 
lish defence  of  Canada  was  conducted  with  much  n  ore  courage, 
entcrprizo  and  ability  than  American  attempts  at  invasion,  which 
failed  alter  a  long  series  of  delays  and  reverses.  The  most  con- 
siderable expedition  undertaken  during  the  war,  with  an  army 
of  at  least  10,000  or  1^,000  regular  troops,  led  by  veteran  com- 
manders, proved  an  abortion  as  discreditable  as  Hull's,  with 
militia,  the  year  before.  Not  only  so,  but  in  all  the  preliminary 
engagements,  our  troops  were  va>rstcd ;  and  the  campaign  of 
that  quarter  ended  in  disgracui'ul  i.nd  terrible  retaliation  in  west 
New  York. 

Small  oorder  warfare,  the  worst  of  all,  most  wasteful  of  men, 
money  and  character,  was  our  resort  during  two,  lor  the  most 
part  disastrous  years.     Nowhere  in  the  world  were  such  costly 


CHAP.  IX.l 


WAR    CHARGKS, 


283 


and  IVuitlcss  hostilities,  as  those  carried  on  over  many  hundreds 
of  miles  from  the  swamps  and  wildernesses  of  Michigan  to 
the  mountain  gorges  of  Canada.  Armstrong  insisted  that  if 
liis  [)Iaii  had  not  been  departed  fronj,  success  would  have  fol- 
lowed. But  even  though  Kingston  had  been  attacked,  as  he  de- 
sired, instead  of  York  and  George,  and  attacked  early  in  the 
spring,  or  even  in  the  winter,  the  whole  plan  of  operations  was 
radically  wrong.  In  IS  1 2  England  had  not  five  thousand  reli- 
able troops  in  both  the  Canadas,  with  inconsiderable  numbers 
farther  north  east.  We  recruited  armies  to  be  wasted  on  the 
borders  of  the  lakes,  bviilt  and  equipped  fleets  upon  them,  at 
monstrous  expense,  to  wage  small,  border  war.  The  sum  ex- 
pended in  building  vessels  for  Lake, Ontario  was  nearly  two 
millions  of  dollars,  Sl,8G9,077  45;  that  expended  on  Lake  Erie 
SlOG,603,16:  and  that  expended  on  Lake  Champlain,  ^296,- 
320  32  :  almost  tw:"»  millions  and  a  half  for  mere  ship  building. 
The  expenditures  for  the  conquest  of  the  lakes  would  have  paid 
for  the  transportation  of  a  large  army  from  Maine  to  Halifax. 

The  waste  of  money  was  enormous.  It  was  estimated  that  it 
cost  a  thousand  dollars  lor  evciy  cannon  conveyed  to  Sackett's 
harbour.  Tiie  flour  for  Harrison's  army  was  said  to  cost  a  hun- 
dred dollars  per  barr'el.  The  multiplied  incidental  but  inevi- 
table charges  of  travel  over  wilderness  regions  without  roads, 
required,  among  other  things,  thousands  of  pack  horses,  each 
of  which  could  carry  only  half  a  barrel  of  provisions,  and  must 
be  attended  by  trains  of  other  horses,  with  forage  for  those 
ladeii  with  provisions.  The  distances  were  hundreds  of  miles 
over  trackless  deserts.  Few  horses  survived  more  than  one  trip ; 
many  sunk  under  one.  Of  -1000  pack  horses  to  supply  Harrison's 
small  army,but  800  were  alive  after  the  winter  of  1812, '13.  Large 
quantities  of  flour  were  buried  in  mud  and  snow,  from  inability 
to  carry  it  any  farther:  large  quantities  damaged  when  arrived 
at  the  place  of  destination.  Two-thirds  of  that  deposited  at  Fort 
Meigs  was  spoiled  and  unfit  for  use.  Fluctuations  and  increase 
of  prices  were  so  great,  that  many  contractors  were  ruined,  and  it 
became  necessary  to  purchase  of  other  persons,  when  disappointed 
of  regular  supplies  by  contractors.  The  enemy's  sufferings  from 
war  in  Canada  were  still  greater.  Commissioners  were  appointed 
by  government  there,  as  in  times  of  dearth  in  Europe,  to  say  how 


;i;' 


,r- 


m. 


"i 


■..'■■■  , 


i  J.     ^-  ■    *    ■    i 


4:i>^ 


284 


WAR    fUAUCKS. 


[JULY,  1813. 


much  food  a  family  slioiild  be;  iil'owod.  Flour  was  lliirty  dollars 
a  barrel  at  Kingston.  There  was  ii  grout  scarcity  of  salt,  in  fact 
hardly  any.  It  was  sold  for  as  much  as  a  dollar  per  quart,  Canada 
before  tlie  war  having  been  supplied  with  salt  from  il  o  Utiiled 
States.  The  English  forces  were  ou  shorter  allowance  than  the 
American,  whose  unwholesome  and  scanty  meat  was  often  cattle 
killed  to  prevent  their  starving  to  deatli.  The  waste  of  life  in 
the  American  armies  was  also  great  from  want  of  competent 
surgeons,  inslrniuents  and  medicines,  and  from  the  diseases  caused 
by  all  these  privations  in  insalubrious  regions. 

Instead  of  protracted  encampment,  any  active  employment, 
winter  or  summer,  would  have  saved  life,  health,  treasure,  cha- 
racter, economized  and  increased  all  the  resources  mdenerg]  ^s  of 
war.  Stagnation  in  camps  and  garrisons,  ou  frontiers,lired  disease, 
discontent,  desertion,  thinned  the  numbers,  soured  the  tempers, 
demoralized  both  men  and  odicers.  As  many  us  six  soldiers 
were  shot  in  one  day  at  one  place  for  desertion.  The  English 
system  of  what  is  called  voluntary  enlistment,  that  is  inveigling 
dissatisfied,  worthless  or  intoxicated  men  to  enlist,  and  then  dis- 
ciplining tlu'ui  by  cidii!  and  degrading  corporal  punishments, 
lashing  ih'MTi  into  good  behaviour,  was  the  only  method  of  re- 
plenishing an^^i  marshaling  our  continually  wasting  armies.  The 
commissariLit,  the  piovisions,  the  clothing  were  bad:  the  medi- 
cal department  worse.  The  want  of  surgical  instruments,  of 
skill  and  knowledge  in  this  essential  comfort  of  the  soldier,  was 
deplorable.  The  cost  of  ship  building  on  the  lakes,  an  incessant 
struggle  between  Sackett's  harbour  and  Kingston,  Erie  and 
Maiden,  Plattsburg  and  its  rival  ship  yard  ;  the  cost  of  conveying 
artillery  and  other  bulky  materials  from  distant  places  ;  the  trans- 
portation of  supplies  by  land,  on  pack  horses,  through  hundreds 
of  miles  of  wilderness  or  unpeopled  regions,  all  these  changes  were 
enormous.  Immense  expenditures  of  public  money  for  these  pur- 
poses were  irresistible  temptations  to  those  claiming  commissions 
on  funds  spent  through  their  agency,  to  make  unjust  charges, 
undue  outlays,  and  ruinous  delays.  From  May  till  November, 
1813,  there  was  no  movement  on  Lake  Ontario.  The  many  thou- 
sand men  near  Fort  George,  commanded  first  by  Dearborn,  finally 
by  Wilkinson,  several  thousand  more  commanded  by  Hampton  at 
Plattsburg,  were  all  stationary  from  May  till  O-.tober.     During 


CHAP.  IX.]       (IKNERALS    WINDER    AND    CHANDLER. 


285 


most  of  this  period  of  innclion,  Chauncey  was  in  port  with  his 
licet,  ship  building  at  Suclcutt's  harbour.  After  Dearborn  was 
removed  from  rommaii(l,our  isolated  conquest,  Fort  George,  was 
left  useless  in  command  of  General  JJoyd  till  General  Wilkinson 
got  tliere,  which  w  :  not  till  the  4th  of  September.  Boyd  mean- 
lime  was  ordered  to  undertake  no  oifensive  operations.  Attempts 
to  master  tlie  lakes  by  operations  on  their  shores  and  waters  con- 
sumed two  years,  whicii,  as  was  afterwards  iIk  iiLfht  have 
been  bettor  employed  by  an  expedition  clsewi  'ilities, 
begun  wrong  in  1812  and  wroiigly  persevered  .  i.':>13, 
as  wrong  beginnings  are  apt  to  be  pursued,  kepi  la  ann/'s  and 
fleets  eitlier  unemployed  or  misemployed  around  and  upon  the 
live  lakes,  Huron,  Michigan,  p]rie,  Ontario  and  Champlain,  at 
great  loss  of  labour  and  character,  exhausting  national  [laticnce, 
when  less  force  and  funds  might  liave  carried  the  war  to  strike 
a  bold  and  fatal  blow  at  the  rout  of  the  territorial  and  maritime 
power  of  Great  Britain  in  America. 

After  the  capture  of  Fort  George,  General  Dearborn  landed, 
and  next  day  ordered  Vincent  to  be  pursued  when  it  was  too 
late.  He  was  unwell,  suflering,  as  many  of  our  olHcers  and  sol- 
diers did,  with  diseases  prevalent  in  the  army,  which  accounts 
in  part  for  his  inactivity.  Commodore  Chauncey  was  in  Sack- 
ett's  harbour  most  of  the  summer,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  also  ill. 
General  Dearborn,  thus  deprived  of  the  fleet,  which  he  deemed 
necessary  for  pursuit  of  the  enemy,  nevertheless  detached  General 
Winder,  a  zealous  and  active  ollicer,  with  a  small  brigade  in 
pursuit  of  Vincent,  who  had  posted  himself  at  Burlington  heights. 
Finding  his  force  inadecpiate.  Winder  sent  back  for  reinforcement, 
which  Dearborn  gave  him  in  Chandler's  brigade  on  the  3d  of  June. 
By  this,  the  American  force  commanded  by  Chandler  was  about 
1300  men,  the  British  under  Vincent  some  800,  only  a  few  miles 
olf,  so  that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  escape,  if  our  inexpe- 
rienced general  had  not  first  adjourned  the  attack  till  another  day, 
and  then  pitched  his  camp  for  the  night  in  a  careless,  and  exposed 
manner.  The  English  general  discoveringthis,  resolved  on  the  first 
principle  of  military  wisdom  to  attack  rather  than  be  attacked. 
At  midnight  he  surprised  and  took  our  picquet  guard,  and  by 
means  of  the  demonstration  of  a  false  attack,  concentrated  his 
force  upon  a  real  one.  It  was  led  by  Lieutenant  Colonel  Harvey, 
the  oflicer  whom  we  long  after  knew  as  Sir  Jolui  Harvey, 


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23  WEST  MAIN  STRUT 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  MSSO 

(716)  873-4S03 


ti\< 


286  BATTLE    AT    FORTY-MILE    CREEK.  [JUNE,  1813. 

Governor  of  New  Brunswick,  negotiating  with  General  Scott  to 
prevent  the  troubles  in  Maine,  when  there  is  reason  to  believe  the 
English  would  have  forcibly  occupied  the  ground  afterwards  ceded 
to  them  by  treaty,  had  not  General  Harvey  found  the  militia  of 
Maine  too  numerous  and  well  posted  to  be  attacked  by  his  infe- 
rior force.  At  Forty  Mile  creek,  on  the  3d  of  June,  1813,  Har- 
vey gallantly  assaulted  the  American  centre  in  the  dark,  took 
some  of  our  cannon,  and  botli  our  unlucky  generals,  Chandler 
and  Winder.  Their  encampment  was  confounded  by  a  surprise, 
which  nevertheless  their  officers  beat  off,  all  behaving  well,  and 
many  of  the  young  officers,  Hindman,  Towson,  Thomas  Biddle 
and  others  displaying  the  ardour  which  wanted  only  occasion  ai,d 
good  commanders.  In  the  confusion  of  the  night,  the  English 
commander  Vincent  lost  his  way  and  wandered  some  distance  off, 
where  he  was  found  next  day,  without  sword  or  hat.  But 
Generals  Chandler  and  Winder  both  prisoners,  the  army  was 
left,  as  at  York,  without  a  commander  acquainted  with  the  plans 
of  the  general  or  the  grounds  of  its  predicament.  The  com- 
mand by  seniority  fell  on  Colonel  James  Burn,  who  was  there 
without  a  colonel's  regular  accompaniment,  his  own  regiment, 
only  a  small  part  of  which  was  with  him;  he  being  in  fact  a 
volunteer  in  the  campaign.  He  resorted  to  a  council  of  war  with 
some  of  the  other  commanding  otFicers :  and  when  the  British 
force  was  not  more  than  half  of  his,  and  they  had  suffered  more 
in  (he  action,  so  that  attacking  them  would  have  probably  recap- 
tured our  generals  with  General  Vincent  too,  and  most  of  his 
bold  followers,  the  untoward  determination  of  Colonel  Burn's 
council  was  not  to  renew  the  attack,  but  fall  back  and  wait  for 
further  orders.  To  that  bold  attack  of  the  E'^glish,  and  our 
lamentable  diffidence,  Christie  with  some  reason  ascribes  the  res- 
cue of  Canada,  which  we  lost  by  the  moral  influences  and  un- 
fortunate consequences  of  that  small  check.  Colonel  Burn,  who, 
under  the  influence  of  an  evil  star,  which  then  seemed  to  predomi- 
nate against  us,  committed  that  mistake,  by  advice  of  his  officers, 
was  a  South  Carolina  gentleman  of  fortune,  educated,  and  having 
spent  many  years  in  Europe.  He  commanded  a  troop  of  horse  in 
the  army  raised  against  France  in  1798, and  was  a[)pointed  colonel 
of  one  of  the  two  regiments  of  cavalry  raised  for  the  war  of  1812: 
a  tine  horseman,  and  intrepid  soldier,  who  that  night,  as  always, 
proved  his  cool  and  unquestionable  self-possession  in  battle.  But 


CHAP.  IX.] 


BOERSTLER'S    CAPTURE. 


287 


he  lacked  what  perhaps  less  courageous  men  would  have  shown 
in  his  exigency,  fearlessness  of  responsibility:  and  fell  back  when 
a  bold  advance  would  probably  have  gained  him  a  brigade,  with 
the  applause  of  his  country  and  his  own  confidence.  In  like 
manner.  Lieutenant  Colonel  Harvey,  having  lost  his  commander, 
drew  oii"  the  English  troops  and  retreated,  without  waiting  even 
to  carry  off  his  wounded.  Both  these  extemporaneous  com- 
manders, after  bravely  fighting  the  battle,  seemed  afraid  to  con- 
tinue it :  Harvey,  with  his  inferior  force,  rightly  enough  probably ; 
but  IJurn,  who  had  taken  one  hundred  of  the  English,  most 
unhappily  for  himself  and  the  character  of  American  arms. 

As  soon  as  Dearborn  was  informed  of  this  check,  he  sent  for- 
ward General  Morgan  Lewis  with  more  troops,  to  join  Burn, 
and  bring  Vincent  to  action,  which  Lewis  was  well  disposed  for. 
But  some  English  vessels  of  war  just  at  that  time  hove  in  sight 
on  the  lake,  near  our  positions,  and  Dearborn  ordered  Lewis  to 
return  to  Fort  George.  During  another  fortnight  of  his  inaction 
there,  the  English  commanders  had  time  to  station  troops  along 
the  passes  from  Queenstown  to  York,  in  which  General  Vincent 
and  Colonel  Bishopp  were  indefatigable.  At  last,  on  the  23d  of 
June,  1813,  the  final  mishap  of  our  campaign  that  summer  in 
Canada  occurred.  Colonel  Charles  Boerstler,  then  lately  promoted 
to  the  command  of  tlie  fourteenth  regiment  of  infantry,  was 
permitted  to  take  six  hundred  men  to  a  considerable  distance, 
contrary  to  obvious  injunctions  of  prudence,  six  hundred  men 
out  of  reach  of  support,  to  destroy  a  British  lodgment  at  some  dis- 
tance ;  and  arrived  on  the  24th  of  June,  1813,  within  two  miles  of 
the  Beaver  dams,  some  seventeen  miles  from  Dearborn  at  Fort 
George.  Boerstler,  when  about  to  attack  a  stonehouse  in  wh>ch 
Colonel  Bishopp  was  entrenched,  was  suddenly  beset  by  between 
five  and  six  hundred  Indians,  on  one  side,  and  by  a  small  party 
of  English  under  Lieutenant  Fitzgibbon,  on  the  other.  After 
fighting  a  good  while,  alarmed  by  threats  of  the  savages,  and 
deluded  by  ofl'ers  of  capitulation,  out  of  reach  of  succour,  Boerst- 
ler, with  tears  in  liis  eyes,  surrendered  his  whole  detachment. 

Congress  had  been  in  session  a  month  when  this  occurred,  the 
climax  of  continual  tidings  of  mismanagement  and  misfortune. 
On  the  6th  of  July,  1813,  therefore,  wlien  news  of  Boerstler's  sur- 
render came,  after  a  short  accidental  communion  of  regret,  and 


\   'I 


:iij?'. 


288 


GENERAL    DEARBORN. 


[JULY,  1813. 


impatience  in  the  lobby  of  the  House  of  Representatives  with 
the  spealver  and  General  Ringgold,  of  Maryland,  I  was  deputed 
a  volunteer  to  wait  on  the  president,  and  request  General  Dear- 
born's removal  from  a  command  which  so  far  had  been  so  un- 
fortunate. The  president  was  ill  abed  when  1  called  :  but  pro- 
mised an  early  answer,  which  soon  followed  me  to  the  capitol, 
in  a  message  from  Mr.  Monroe,  that  General  Dearborn  should 
be  removed:  the  order  went  at  once.  Probably  our  remon- 
strance to  the  executive  might  not  have  been  quite  so  readily 
complied  with,  but  that  General  Wilkinson  had  been  ordered  to 
the  north  in  March,  some  months  before  I  waited  on  the  presi- 
dent for  General  Dearborn's  removal.  The  good  military  repu- 
tation he  had  acquired  by  distinguished  service,  bravery  and  ac- 
tivity, in  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  was  earned  when  lie  was  in 
robust  heaUh,  much  younger,  and  had  no  responsibility  to  as- 
sume, but  simply  orders  to  obey.  Exfoliation  of  veteran  com- 
manders was  one  of  the  processes  which  the  young  army  of 
that  war  had  to  suffer  before  becoming  fit  for  action.  On  the 
15th  of  July,  1813,  by  a  general  order  Dearborn  took  leave 
of  the  army  at  Fort  George,  pursuant  to  orders  from  the  secretary 
of  war,  to  retire  from  command  till  his  health  should  be  re- 
established. Brigadier-general  Boyd,  and  the  colonels  and  ma- 
jors, there  addressed  him  in  a  warm  remonstrance  against  his 
departure,  which  be  answered  by  referring  them  to  the  com- 
mand of  their  superiors.  The  northern  army,  relieved  of  a  vete- 
ran leader,  whose  age  and  health  disqualified  him  (or  active  and 
enterprising  services  in  his  successor.  General  W  son,  did  not 
get  a  younger,  healthier,  or  more  competent  com*       Jer. 

After  Dearborn  left  Fort  George,  things  v  ore  n^  o  bad  condition 
there,  and  at  Sackett's  Harbour,  owing  to  ihuclion,  the  rawness 
of  the  troops,  the  want  of  officers,  and  varifuis  other  causes.  No 
attempt  to  act  offensively  was  made  afi-^r  Boerstler's  capture. — 
General  Boyd's  orders  were  to  remain  in  Fort  George,  where  our 
army  was  cooped  up  from  May  till  (3ctober,  tiujs  losing  the  whole 
season  of  usual  operations.  Meantime  the  enemy  was  as  active 
as  we  were  the  reverse.  By  the  first  of  July,  he  advanced  so  far 
beyond  the  scene  of  Boerstler's  surrender,  as  to  fortify  a  line  from 
Twelve  Mile  creek  on  the  lake,  across  to  Queenstown,  on  the  Nia- 
gara.   There  were  occasional  skirmishes,  and  little  combats  of 


f  ■  .•  , ,  ;v-^  ■ 


CHAP.  IX.] 


CAPTURE    OF    BLACK    ROCK. 


289 


border  warfare,  but  no  action  of  magnitude.  The  most  enter- 
prising and  effectual  took  place  on  tije  llthof  July,18I3,  when  the 
English  Colonel  Bishopp,an  active  officer,  and  I  believe  a  mem- 
ber o(  Parliament,  commanding  at  fort  Erie,  dashed  over  the  Nia- 
gara, and  surprised  our  post  at  Black  Rock.  There  was  a  militia 
force  there  more  than  sufficient  to  repel  this  daring  invasion  ;  but 
they  ran  away  without  resisting  it.  The  block  house,  barracks, 
dock  yard  and  stores,  were  destroyed,  except  such  as  the  enemy 
wanted.  But  while  employed  in  loading  their  booty  in  boats  to 
carry  back  with  them  to  Canada,  a  small  force  of  regulars,  militia 
and  Indians  were  got  together  from  Buftalo,  attacked  and  killed 
Bishopp,  with  some  of  his  men,  and  compelled  the  rest  to  fly 
with  precipitation.  Before  General  Wilkinson  took  command, 
our  forces  in  Canada,  about  four  thousand  strong,  were  shut  up 
in  Fort  George,  by  about  half  that  number  of  enemies  beleaguering 
it  under  General  Vincent.  Our  commander  there  was  General 
Boyd,  a  good  soldier  and  brave,  who  would  have  gladly  fought, 
if  not  peremptorily  forbid.  He  had  served  among  the  Mahratta 
troops  in  India,  was  colonel  of  the  fourth  regiment  of  infantry 
which  bore  the  brunt  of  the  onslaught  at  Tippecanoe  in  1811, 
when  General  Harrison  was  surprised  there  by  Tecumseh,  but 
beat  him  off.  The  Secretary  of  War  did  not  consider  General 
Boyd  fit  to  be  trusted  with  more  than  a  brigade,  or  authority  to 
act  offensively  as  commander-in-chief. 

When  Eustis's  eastern  friends,  at  the  meeting  of  Congress  in 
December,  1812,  reproached  him  with  Hull's  surrender  and  the 
wretched  failure  of  the  projected  conquest  of  Canada,  his  ready 
and  good-humoured  answer  was,  "  Gentlemen,  it  is  all  the  fault 
of  New  England,  (Dr.  Eustis  was  from  Boston;)  if  you  in  New- 
England  had  been  well-inclined,  we  could  easily  have  taken 
Canada  bi/  contract."  General  Armstrong  was  bent  on  taking  it 
by  force,  and,  though  Madison  did  not  much  like  him,  Monroe 
still  less,  appeared  to  be  able,  energetic  and  patriotic  in  his 
labours  as  secretary  of  war,  which  was  next  to  the  treasury 
department,  the  most  difficult  undertaking  of  the  crisis.  On 
the  8th  February,  1813,  Armstrong,  as  secretary,  submitted 
to  President  Madison,  who  approved  it  the  10th  of  that  month, 
a  plan  for  the  first  enterprize  of  a  second  campaign,  in  which 
he  said  nothing  should  be  left  to  chance.  Computing  the 
VOL.  I. — 25 


.^-•■•■^^    ■■:." 


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290 


ARMSTRONG'S     PLAN, 


rFED.,  1813. 


British  troops  at  Montreal  and  its  dependencies  at  12,000  men, 
one-sixth  militia,  (probably  much  more  than  tliey  amounted  to,) 
he  thought  we  should  be  able  to  open  the  campaign  on  Lake 
Champlain,  by  the  15th  May,  with  sufficient  force  to  dislodge 
them.  The  alternatives  were,  entire  inaction  or  some  pro- 
ceeding secondary  to  the  main  design  of  conquering  Canada: 
that  is,  captnring  Kingston,  York,  Erie  and  George,  preparatory 
to  that  of  Montreal,  and  ultimately  Quebec.  General  Armstrong's 
project  reclroned  2100  regular  British  troops  in  Upper  Canada ; 
distributed  at  Prescott  300,  Kingston  600,  George  and  Erie  1200. 
Our  force  should,  in  his  opinion,  be  not  less  than  6000,  act  upon 
Lake  Ontario  by  the  1st  April,  when  it  is  free  from  ice,  and  on 
the  St.  Lawrence  before  the  15th  May,  till  when  it  is  not  naviga- 
ble, and  the  enemy  could  not  be  rcintbrced,  as  was  to  be  expected 
after  that  time.  Part  of  Armstrong's  plan  of  campaign  was  that, 
instead  of  Dearborn,  Wilkinson  should  command  the  proposed 
conquest  of  Canada. 

Wilkinson  was  born  in  Maryland, bred  a  physician, a  gentleman 
of  good  education,  manners  and  address,  pompous,  pleasing,  me- 
thodical, debonnair,  fond  of  writing,  served  with  distinction  in  the 
army  of  the  Revolution,  particularly  under  Gates  ui  the  memora- 
ble conflict  with  Burgoyne,  which  ended  by  his  capitulation  at 
Saratoga,  the  first  overwhelming  blow  England  received  in  that 
struggle,  which  procured  for  America  the  aid  of  France.  Wilkin- 
son was  sent  by  Gates  with  his  official  account  of  that  great  vic- 
tory to  Congress,  at  Philadelphia.  He  was  too  old  a  soldier  not 
to  be  fully  aware  of  the  burden  assumed  by  plac'tig  himself  at  the 
head  of  so  momentous  an  operation  as  the  invasion  of  Canada, 
with  raw  levies ;  which,  when  he  fell  ill  with  fever,  weighed 
him  down  with  morbid  anxiety.  His  first  general  order  is- 
sued at  Sackelt's  Harbour  the  23d  August,  1813,  deprecated 
the  dread  responsibility  of  the  trust  for  which,  when  disabled 
by  disease  at  the  crisis  of  its  utmost  need,  he  was,  as  General 
Boyd  on  Wilkinson's  court  martial  testified,  totally  disqualified 
in  body  and  mind.  In  a  letter  of  the  13th  August,  1S13,  to 
General  Armstrong,  from  Sackett's  Harbour,  Wilkinson  com- 
plained, that  with  3000  troops  there  he  had  but  one  colonel  and 
twenty-five  captains,  a  sad  condition,  said  he,  in  which  to  lead 
raw'  troops,  to  battle. 

In  April,  1S13,  the  United  States  were  divided  into  nine  mili- 


^■■U!£^ 


CHAP.  IX.] 


MILITARY    DISTRICTS. 


291 


tary  districts,  commatided,  the  first,  by  Brigadier-General  Tho- 
mas II.  dishing  ;  the  second  by  brevet  Brigadier-General  Henry 
Burbeck;  the  third  by  Brigadier-General  George  Izard;  the  fourth 
by  Brigadier-General  Joseph  Bloomfield;  the  fifth  by  Major- 
General  Wade  Hampton,  with  Brigadier-General  Thomas  Par- 
ker; the  sixth  by  Major-General  Thomas  Pinckney;  the  seventh 
by  Brigadier-General  Thomas  Flournoy ;  the  eighth  by  JNIajor- 
General  William  H.  Harrison,  with  Brigadier-Generals  Lewis 
Cass  and  Unncan  M'Arthnr;  the  ninth  by  Major-General  Hen- 
ry Dearborn,  with  Major-Generals  James  Wilkinson,  Morgan 
Lewis,  Brigadier-Generals  John  P.  Boyd,  John  Chandler,  Zebu- 
Ion  M.  Pike,  and  William  II.  Winder,  and  Adjutant-General 
Lieutenant-Colonel  Winfield  Scott.  District  No.  1  compre- 
hended Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire ;  No.  2,  Rhode 
Island  and  Connecticut;  No.  3,  New  York  from  the  sea  to  the 
Highlands  and  part  of  New  Jersey  ;  No.  4,  the  rest  of  New 
Jersey,  Peimsylvania,  and  Delaware  ;  No.  5,  Virginia  south  of 
the  Kappahannock ;  No.  G,  the  two  Carolinas  and  Georgia ; 
No.  7,  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  and  Temiessee  ;  No.  S,  Kentucky, 
Ohio,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Illinois  and  Missouri ;  No.  9,  New 
York  north  of  the  Highlands  and  Vermont.  In  July  a  tenth 
district  was  created,  consisting  of  Maryland,  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia and  Virginia,  between  the  Potomac  and  Rappahannock. 
Pike  had  been  killed.  Chandler  and  Winder  captured,  Dearborn 
withdrawn  from  Fort  George  before  Wilkinson's  transfer  north. 
On  the  23d  of  July,  the  Secretary  of  War  renewed,  and  the 
president  again  approved,  the  secretary's  original  plan  of  cam- 
paign, to  deflection  from  which,  by  Chauncey  and  Dearborn, 
may  bo  imputed  much  of  the  subsequent  failure  of  the  whole. 
Armstrong's  plan  was  always  to  strike  first, and  with  all  our  might 
at  Kingston,  there  to  destroy  the  hostile  ships,  which  would  have 
ensured  the  success  of  the  lake  campaign.  For  this  purpose  he  sug- 
gested collecting  our  whole  force  at  Sackett's  Harbour,  and  thence 
making  the  attack,  which,  if  vigorously  done,  would  in  all  proba- 
bility iiave  succeeded,  so  much  greater  was  our  force.  Even 
after  tiie  mistaken  captures  of  York  and  Fort  George,  this  was 
feasible  and  the  best  plan.  Another  of  Armstrong's  projects,  as  an 
alternative,  was,  to  take  and  fortify  Madrid  on  the  St.  Lawrence, 
whence,  with  Lake  St.  Francis,  occupied  by  a  few  gun  boats 
and  barges,  Wilkinson's  army  could  easily  march  on  Montreal, 


'«■#' 


mum 

mm/] 

».>.'■"■ 


■'t 


I  . 


iff'i'-    ' 


292 


PLAN    OF    CAMPAIGN. 


[JULY,  1813. 


ill  concert  with  Hampton.  Neither  of  these  designs,  however, 
could  be  carried  into  ellect  before  Wiliiinson's  arrival  from  the 
south,  wliich  was  not  till  August.  On  the  8th  of  that  month, 
the  secretary  urged  the  general  to  attempt  Kingston,  as  well  on 
grounds  of  policy,  as  military  principle,  that  being  the  great  de- 
pot of  the  enemy's  resources,  the  first  and  chief  object  of  the 
campaign.  Any  plan,  said  Armstrong,  carrying  our  operations 
wide  of  Kingston,  but  wounds  the  lion's  tail,  without  liastening 
the  termination  of  the  war. 

The  riiW  troops,  ill  supplied  with  officers,  of  which  General 
Wilkinson  complained,  were  not  to  prove  the  chief  cause  of  his 
total  failure  in  leading  the  important  expedition  confided  to  him 
as  the  fittest  leader.  Implacable  enmity  between  him  and  Gene- 
ral Hampton,  who  commanded  the  right  wing  of  that  expedition, 
and  did  not  choose  to  serve  under  his  senior  ollicer  Wilkinson, 
proved  another  fatal  hinderance,  which  the  Secretary  of  War  in 
vain  attempted  to  remove.  Misdirected,  as  perhaps  the  whole 
was,  when  Canada  was  attempted  at  all,  instead  of  carrying  the 
war  into  Nova  Scotia ;  then  begun  wrong  at  York  and  Fort 
George,  instead  of  Kingston  ;  procrastinated  from  spring  till  au- 
tumn, by  these  and  other  delays  ;  the  whole  deplorably  failed  at 
last,  through  discord  superadded  to  illness  and  incapacity  of  the 
commanders.  Discord,  the  worst  of  evils,  which  mars  so  many 
operations,  as  faction  sacrifices  a  country  to  malice  and  envy, 
and  makes  men  destroy  themselves  to  gratify  their  hatred  of 
other  men.  Not  only  did  the  commanders  Wilkinson  and  Hamp- 
ton hate  each  other,  but  their  recriminations  infected  their  fol- 
lowers ;  the  army  was  split  into  factions ;  officers  fought  duels 
in  these  feuds ;  and  it  is  difficult  from  conflicting  accounts  of  the 
operations  of  that  deplorable  campaign  to  discover  or  tell  the 
truth.  One  thing  is  plain,  that  a  genius  to  control  and  combine 
the  whole  was  wanting.  General  Armstrong  did  not  accomplish 
it.  There  was  no  controlling  genius  to  subdue  controversies  and 
difficulties,  and  command  fortune.  Dearborn,  if  left,  would  have 
hardly  done  better  that^  ''e  had  done  before.  Under  him  and  Wil- 
kinson and  Hampton,  ui  veteran  officers,  ail  disabled  by  illness, 
and  otherwise  disqualifitd,  fiom  first  to  last  everything  went 
wrong :  and  it  is  painful  to  state  what  occurred,  lest  injustice 
is  done  to  officers,  none  of  whom  can  be  mentioned  without  cen- 
sure, while  some  may  be  less  deserving  of  it  than  others  in  their 


CHAP.  IX.] 


GENERAL    HAMPTON. 


293 


tardy,  contentious,  apparently  puerile,  and  certainly  deplorable 
misconduct. 

General  Wade  Hampton  had  served  in  the  army  of  the  Revo- 
lution, and  was  a  gentleman  of  large  possessions  in  South  Carolina 
and  Louisiana,  where  he  owned  thousands  of  slaves.  At  his  time 
of  life,  and  with  his  affluence,  he  could  not  have  been  encamped 
in  a  northern  wilderness  but  for  fame.  On  the  16lh  of  August, 
1813,  Wilkinson  from  Albany  sent  his  first  orders  to  Hampton; 
who  forthwith  on  the  23d,  addressed  a  strong  protest  to  the  Secre- 
tary of  War,  insisting  that  Hampton's  was  a  distinct  and  sepa- 
rate command,  not  to  be  taken  from  him  before  the  end  of  the 
campaign,  or  encroached  upon  by  a  superior  in  rank;  especially 
not  to  depend  on  the  orders  of  an  individual  200  or  -100  miles  off. 
He  therefore  tendered  his  resignation,  and  asked  for  a  discharge. 
On  the  25th  of  August,  1813,  Armstrong  wrote  to  Hampton,  en- 
deavouring to  reconcile  him  to  a  distinction  between  scpai,  te  and 
independent  commands.  On  the  31st  of  August,  Hampton  wrote 
to  the  secretary  that  his  preparations  would  be  complete  for  a 
movement  with  3000  effective  men  in  good  spirits,  on  the  20tli  of 
September ;  4000  eflectives,  allowing  one-fourth  for  sick.  Official 
accounts  at  Washington,  the  2d  of  August,  1813,  the  day  Congress 
adjourned,  from  the  inspector-general's  return  of  troops,  gave 
a  total  of  14,35()  regular  soldiers  in  the  ninth  military  district, 
viz :  at  Sackett's  Harbour  3,(308,  at  Fort  George  (i,(i3G,  and  at 
Burlington,  4,053.  After  Harrison's  success,  he  left  the  west, 
with  about  2000  more,  accompanied  by  Captain  Perry,  (going 
home  to  Rhode  Island,)  and  Captain  Barclay,  recovering  of  liis 
wound. — They  landed  at  Black  Rock,  the  24th  of  October,  ex- 
pecting to  join  Wilkinson's  expedition  :  which,  after  deducting 
sick  and  tlie  usual  allowances,  could  not  be  less  than  12,000 
strong,  including  Hampton's  division  :  a  larger  army  than  the 
United  States  had  together  during  that  war. 

At  a  council  of  war  held  at  Sackett's  Harbour,  the  2Gth  of 
August,  1813,  the  whole  present  effective  force  of  the  army  was 
estimated  at  7400  combatants,  exclusive  of  tlio  naval  depart- 
ment. Generals  Wilkinson,  Lewis,  Brown  and  Swartwout,  (the 
quarter-master-general,)  with  Commodore  Chaunccy  atthat  coun- 
cil, reckoned  that  by  recruits  and  convalescents,  the  force  might 
amount  to  9000  men  by  the  20th  of  September,  exclusive  of 
militia,  on  whom  no  solid  reliance  could  be  placed.    The  army 

25* 


■•<: 


ilm  ■*!.■■        .  ^^ 


294 


AMERICAN    ARMY. 


[AU(l.,  1813. 


was  then  at  Fort  George  and  Niagara  3500,  at  Oswego,  200,  at 
Sackett's  Harbour,  2000,  at  Burlington,  4000.  'J'lie  season  is 
washing  rapidly,  adds  the  minute  of  that  council;  the  honour  and 
interest  of  the  nation  imperiously  demand  that  a  deadly  blow 
shall  be  struck  somewhere.  It  was  therefore  resolved  to  rendez- 
vous all  the  troops  in  the  vicinity  of  Sackett's  Harbour,  in  co- 
operation with  our  squadron,  make  a  bold  feint  on  Kingston,  slip 
down  the  St.  Lawrence,  and  in  concert  with  General  Hampton's 
division,  take  Montreal.  General  Wilkinson  took  command  at 
Fort  George  early  in  September,  1S13.  A  council  of  war  held  by 
him  there  the  20th  of  that  month,  with  Urigadier-Gencral  Boyd, 
eleven  colonels  and  lieutenant-colonels,  and  ten  majors,  resolved 
to  rase  and  abandon  that  place,  and  transfer  the  troops  to  the 
vicinity  of  Kingston,  for  junction  with  the  division  at  Sackett's 
Harbour,  commanded  by  Major  General  Lewis.  The  aggregate 
of  that  division  on  the  24th  of  August,  181.3,  was  3183,  2400  fit 
for  duty,  unfit  549,  convalescent  427.  There  was,  however,  but 
one  colonel,  one  lieutenant-colonel,  and  a  deficiency  of  officers  of 
every  grade.  The  sick  among  raw  recruits  in  that  region  were 
always  numerous  :  on  the  18lh  of  September,  the  hospital  report 
was  681  for  that  week.  Generals  Armstrong,  Dearborn,  Wil- 
kinson, Hampton,  Lewis,  Izard,  Commodore  Chauncey,  with 
many  other  officers,  suffered  from  illness.  The  weather  during 
the  autumn  was  extremely  hiclement,  superadding  many  diffi- 
culties to  an  enterprise  hazardous  at  best,  too  hard  of  accomplish- 
ment, probably,  to  justify  its  imputation  altogetlier  to  the  incom- 
petency of  leaders.  Yet,  when  every  department  of  government 
had  done  its  part,  and  the  belief  of  that  day  is  confirmed  by  sub- 
sequent assurance  that  the  English  force  in  Canada  was  so  much 
less  than  ours,  as,  with  the  lukewarmness  of  the  Frencii  popula- 
tion, to  render  it  nearly  certain  that  bold  and  vigorous  invasion 
must  Iiavc  succeeded,  posterity  will  condemn  the  commanders 
under  whom  the  attempt  miscarried.  Uncertainty  is  the  lot  of  all 
human  affairs,  and  admonishes  forbearance  of  censure.  But  if 
success  be  ever  the  standard,  it  is  for  war.  Military  men  are 
tried  for  want  of  success  as  a  crime,  not  only  by  public  judgment, 
but  according  to  their  code  of  law.  Wilkinson  was  honourably 
acquitted  indeed:  but  he  demanded  trial.  Hampton  resigned 
soon  after  the  campaign.  Stern  condemnation  of  the  unfortu- 
nate in  war,  is  like  the  rest  of  its  philosophy,  however  severe, 


IS' 


1813. 


CHAP.  IX.] 


SKCRETARY    OP    WAR. 


295 


not  unjust  in  dealing  with  comnianclers,  by  wl-.om  tlio  campaign 
of  1S13,  in  tlio  noitii,  was  brought  to  a  close  scarcely  less  ignoble 
tlian  that  of  Hull's  in  the  west  the  year  before. 

The  failure  of  that  expedition,  and  many  other  misfortunes 
ending  with  the  terrible  catastrophe  of  the  capture  of  Washington, 
clouded  General  Armstrong's  career,  as  Secretary  of  War,  of 
whom  it  was  .said,amongother  aspersions,  that  his  transfer  of  the 
war  department  to  the  St.  Lawrence  in  autumn  of  181.'},  was 
from  improper  motives  of  personal  ambition ;  but  had  he  not 
reason  to  flatter  himself  that  his  presence  at  the  theatre  of  action 
would  be  important  in  quelling  discord,  animating  exertion,  and 
urging  dispatch?  Neither  Madison  nor  Monroe  approved  the 
movement,  which,  tried  by  the  military  standard  of  success,  may 
be  condemned. 

On  the  5th  of  September,  181:3,  he  arrived  at  Sackett's  Har- 
bour, whence  he  wrote  in  familiar  terms  to  General  Willcinson, 
that  General  Hampton  would  go  through  the  campaign  cordially 
and  vigorously,  but  resign  at  the  end  of  it;  be  ready  to  move 
by  the  20tli  with  an  effective  force  of  -1000  men,  and  militia  de- 
tachment of  1500.  On  the  supposition  that  Pre  vest  had  taken 
post  and  chosen  his  champ  tie  butaillc,  I  had,  adds  Armstrong, 
ordered  Hampton  to  the  Isle  Aux  Noix.  Wilkinson's  jealousy 
of  Armstrong's  authority  was  as  sensitive  as  Hampton's  of 
Wilkinson's.  On  the  24th  of  August,  Wilkin.son  wrote  to  Arm- 
strong, I  trust  you  will  not  interfere  with  my  arrangements,  or 
give  orders  within  the  district  of  my  command,  but  to  myself, 
because  it  would  impair  my  authority  and  distract  the  public 
service.  Two  heads  on  the  same  shoulders  make  a  monster. 
Unhappily  for  the  country  that  deplorable  campaign  was  a 
monster  with  three  heads,  biting  and  barking  at  each  other,  with 
a  madness  which  destroyed  them  all,  and  disgraced  the  country. 
Discord  was  a  leprosy  in.  the  very  marrow  of  the  enterprise, 
worse  than  all  its  other  calamities.  Armstrong  was  on  good 
terms  with  both  Wilkinson  and  Hampton  till  it  failed :  but  thence- 
forth the  enmity  became  as  bitter  between  him  and  both  of  them, 
as  between  the  two  themselves. 

After  chasing  Yeo  into  harbour,  and  leaving  him  there, 
Chauncey  sailed  to  the  west  end  of  the  lake,  and  informed  Wil- 
kinson on  the  1st  of  October  that  he  was  ready  to  escort  the 
army  down  the  St.  Lawrence.    Soon  after  Wilkinson  embarked 


^•^ 


^^:s.-^ 


!».- 


►v>. 


296 


KXPKDITION    TO    MONTRHAL 


[OCT.,  1813, 


from  Fort  George  for  that  dcsliiiatioii.  Colonel  Scott,  with  liis 
regiment,  was  left  there  with  (jcneral  McClurc,  of  the  New  York 
militia,  to  do  whatever  was  necessary  to  prevent  the  enemy  get- 
ting useful  repossession  of  that  inglorious  prison  of  our  forces. 
Instead  of  the  1st  of  April,  which  the  Secretary  of  War  indicated 
to  the  president  in  February  for  the  outset  of  operations  on  the 
lake,  they  did  not  begin  till  six  months  later.  Instead  of  the  15th 
of  May  designated  for  the  capture  of  Montreal,  we  were  destined 
to  total  discomfiture  in  November,  without  battle  or  deadly  blow, 
except  the  equivocal  atTair  at  Williamsburg,  on  the  10th  of  that 
month.  General  Armstrong  said,  after  this  failure,  that  the  hea- 
vens, rather  than  the  strongholds  and  prowess  of  the  enemy, 
had  before  Hampton's  defection,  defeated  Wilkinson's  enterprise; 
the  storms  of  October  were  his  comiuerors.  He  did  not  take  his 
departure  from  the  Niagara  till  the  most  inclement  autumnal 
weatlter  prevailed;  rain,  snowstorms,  cold,  uncomfortable  and 
dangerous  navigation,  worse  than  the  high  seas,  uncommon 
severities  of  an  inhospitable  region,  since  well  peopled  and  pro- 
vided. Winter  would  have  been  a  more  favourable  season,  with 
its  turnpikes  of  snow,  salubrity  of  air,  and  occlusion  of  supplies 
from  England  to  Canada. 

Throughout  the  war,  of  course,  the  press  was  not  silent,  but 
reigned  supreme  as  ever  in  this  the  country  of  its  prepotency. 
The  Aurora,  edited  by  Colonel  William  Duane,  was  then  one 
of  our  most  accredited  newspapers.  Mr.  Duane  had  published 
works  on  military  tactics,  and  was  commissioned  by  President 
Jefferson,  a  colonel  in  the  army.  In  1813,  he  was  adjutant- 
general  of  the  fourth  military  district,  then  commanded  by 
General  Bloomfield :  and  on  confidential  terms  with  the  generals 
and  other  officers  of  the  old  army.  Extensively  read  in  military 
learning,  a  rapid  and  able  editor,  Colonel  Duane  probably  had 
confidential  information,  enabling  him  to  anticipate  the  news  of 
the  day,  and  speculate  as  to  events  on  the  frontiers.  V\  hen 
Generals  Dearborn,  Bloomfield  and  Pike  tried  their  invasion  of 
Canada,  in  the  latter  end  of  1812,  the  Aurora  anticipated  the 
success  of  an  expedition,  which  the  editor  thought  must  succeed, 
though  it  totally  failed. 

The  National  Intelligencer  then,  if  not  the  organ,  the  mouth 
piece  of  government  at  Washington,  whose  pages  secretaries, 
comptrollers  and  other  functionaries  contributed  to,  and  the  pre- 


CHAP.  IX.] 


AMERICAN    PRESS. 


S97 


sidciit  liimself,  like  Napoleon  in  the  Monitour,  at  least  by  sug- 
gestions, repultlished  in  October  (Voin  tbe  Aurora  what  was 
calculated  to  aggravate  disappointment  for  Wilkinson's  and 
Hampton's  failines,  by  proclaiming  their  success  with  untoward 
confidence.  The  semi-ollieial  prediction  was  lieadcd— our  armies 
have  entered  Upper  Canada,  and  it  is  ours. 

"  Letters  from  Fort  George  (viz.  Wilkinson)  of  the  3d  October, 
Chateaugnay  (Hampton)  of  the  (ith,  and  Sackett's  Harbour 
(Armstrong)  of  the  Ith,  show  that  the  general  of  the  enemy 
lias  foimd  his  snj)erior  in  iho  field,  and  been  completely  out- 
generaled. The  war  minister  (Armstrong)  and  commander-in- 
chief  (Wilkinson)  concur  in  opinion  that  in  order  tv»  fell  the  tree, 
wo  nmst  not  begin  at  llie  top  brandies,  but  strike  at  the  stump  : 
which  discovery,  it  is  added,  had  been  imparted  to  the  former  Sec- 
retary of  War  (I'^ustis)  wiihoiU  the  least  etfect.  By  this  lime  it  is 
probable  on.r  troops  have  thrown  themselves  between  Kingston 
and  Montreal.  The  war  by  land  has  assumed  a  new  character  in 
consecjnence  of  the  presence  of  able  men  who  understand  their  pro- 
fession, in  the  war  department  and  at  the  iiead  of  the  army.  The 
division  under  General  Hampton  moved  from  Chateaugnay  on  the 
morning  of  the  4th  October,  destination  unknown  but  to  himself, 
the  troops  having  left  behind  all  baggage  except  one  change  and 
five  days  provisions,  their  position  prior  to  the  march  not  more 
than  forty  miles  from  Montreal.  We  may  expect  that  General 
Prcvost  (British)  intends  to  make  war  like  Proctor  at  Maiden, 
and  Kutusolf  at  Moscow,  to  give  up  everything  to  conflagration 
which  he  cannot  rule.  The  ensuing  week  settles  the  fall  of 
Upper  Canada  forever.  The  fall  of  Quebec  in  the  ensuing 
spring  will  give  our  youth  experience  to  ward  against  evils  of 
thirty  years  neglect  of  military  knowledge.  The  siege  of  Quebec, 
though  severe,  will  not  be  more  so  than  the  actions  of  our  naval 
heroes.  Canada  once  ours,  we  shall  have  no  enemy  but  a  few 
domestic  traitors  and  foreign  emissaries  on  our  soil." 

To  appreciate  now  the  disappointment  then,  of  what  these 
confident  assurances  occasioned,  and  the  conflict  of  public  senti- 
ment between  tlie  advocates  and  opponents  of  the  conquest 
of  Canada,  it  is  necessary  to  contrast  such  publications  from 
the  Aurora  with  others  of  an  opposite  character.  Among  the 
journals  deprecating  war,  one  of  the  most  respectable  was  the 
American  Daily   Advertiser,  of   Philadelphia,  edited  by  Mr. 


'il.: 


fe; 


298 


AMERICAN    PRESS. 


[OCT.,  1813. 


ii 


(  -d.f    '-'.ixW.-,'-    ,  ■ 


Zachariah  Poulson,  who,  perhaps,  Uved,  like  many  others,  to 
acknowledge  that  it  did  not  prove  so  great  an  evil  as  it  was  de- 
nounced for.  Mr.  Poulson's  paper  luxuriated  in  the  delays, 
blunders,  defeats,  expenditures,  disasters,  mishaps,  calamities, 
freighting  every  mail  from  Canada.  It  had  a  column,  almost 
stereotyped,  with  the  caption  of  more  disasters.  While  the 
Aurora  promised  magnificent  conquests,  the  Advertiser  kri  that 
greedy  monster,  public  sentiment,  with  superabundance  of  abor- 
tive performance  and  distressing  calamities.  The  capture  of 
Montreal,  which  was  many  months  in  agitation,  with  contradic- 
tory accounts  of  its  backward  progress,  afforded  lasting  replenish- 
ment to  this  morbid  maw,  of  more  and  more  disasters.  Generals 
Armstrong,  Wilkinson  and  Hampton  were  three  heads  prolific  of 
fvightful  reports. 

Duane's  ominous  predictions  were  soon  followed  by  tidings  of 
our  first  reverse  near  Lake  Champlain,  which,  in  Mr,  Christie's 
account  of  it,  is  that  on  the  20th  September  General  Hampton 
entered  Canada  at  Odeltown  with  upwards  of  5000  men,  where 
he  was  worsted  by  less  than  as  many  hundred  provincial  militia, 
with  a  handful  of  regulars  under  Lieutenant  Colonel  de  Sala- 
berry.  Had  Hampton  sent  forward  a  body  of  rifiemen  through 
the  woods,  he  might  without  much  difficulty  have  obtained  a 
footing  in  the  open  country  near  St.  John's ;  wliich,  if  he  could 
have  succeeded  in  occupying,  must  have  led  to  the  surrender  of 
the  Isle  Aux  Noix.  He,  however,  seems  not  to  have  been 
aware  of  our  weakness,  says  Christie,  or  to  have  placed  little 
reliance  in  the  discipline  and  perseverance  of  his  troops.  On  the 
22d  September  he  evacuated  Odeltown,  and  moved  toward  the 
head  of  Chateauguay  river,  under  the  pretext  of  the  impractica- 
bility of  advancing  through  the  Odeltown  road,  for  want  of 
water  for  his  cavalry  and  cattle,  owing  to  the  extraordinary 
drought  of  the  season. 

After  this  miscarriage.  General  Hampton  returned  to  his 
former  position  on  the  American  side  of  the  lines,  at  Four 
Corners,  and  waited  there  till  the  21st  October.  By  odd  enough 
concert  of  action  between  two  commanders,  two  hundred  miles 
apart,  so  jealous  of  each  other  that  they  coincided  in  nothing, 
but  disagreed  about  everything,  on  the  same  day,  the  2 1st  of 
October,  that  the  one  launched  his  expedition  at  Grenadier  Island 
near  Sackett's  Harbour  on  Lake  Ontario,  the  other  broke  up  his 


CHAP.  IX.] 


HAMPTON    REPULSED. 


299 


encampment  on  Lake  Champlain,each  to  march  upon  Montreal; 
as  the  third  leader  of  their  disastrous  expedition,  the  Secretary  of 
War,  insisted  to  see  which  could  get  there  first,  lest  either  should 
precede  the  other,  and  monopoUze  all  the  credit  of  success,  with- 
out either  Wilkinson  or  Hampton  being  apprized  of  these  simul- 
taneous movements  of  the  two  wings  of  the  same  army,  under 
the  command  of  three  separate  generals,  but  the  control  of 
neither.    This  is  Christie's  account  of  General  Hampton's  second 
attempt,  that  closed  his  military  career,  which  it  is  well  to  adopt, 
in  order  to  show  what  the  enemy  said  of  our  strange  discomfitures. 
On  the  22d  October,  he  reached  the  junction  of  the  Outarde  and 
Chateauguay  rivers.  On  the  night  of  the  25th  he  dispatched  Colo- 
nel Purdy  with  a  light  brigade  and  strong  body  of  infantry  to  fall 
on  I)e  l^alaberry's  rear,  while  the  main  body  was  to  attack  it  in 
front.  Purdy,  misled  and  bewildered  in  the  woods,  did  not  gain  the 
point  of  attack  as  directed.    General  Hampton  advanced  next 
morning  with  about  3,500  men  under  General  Izard,  expecting  to 
hear  of  Purdy's  success,and  drove  in  a  small  piquet.  De  Salaberry 
hearing  the  musketry,  advanced  with  his  few  men  as  Izard  did, 
steadily  in  open  column,  till  within  musket  shot.     The  retreat  of 
a  few  skirmishers,  mistaken  by  the  Americans  (or  a  flight,  raised 
a  shout  from  them  which  was  re-echoed  by  the  Canadians.     De 
Salaberry,  as  a  ruse  de  guerre,  ordered  the  bugles  placed  at 
intervals  to  sound  an  advance,  which  had  the  desired  effect  of 
checking  the  ardour  of  the  Americans.     The  noise  brought  up 
Colonel  Purdy's  division  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river.     The 
Canadians  drove  back  the  American  advance  guard  upon  the 
main  body  until  a  company  of  the  provincial  militia  hitherto  con- 
cealed, at  the  word  of  command,  opened  so  unexpected  and 
eflectual  a  fire  as  threw  the  Americans  into  the  utmost  disorder, 
and  occasioned  their  tumultuous  and  precipitate  retreat.  General 
Hampton,  finding  his  arrangement  disconcerted  by  the  total  route 
of  Colonel  Purdy's  division,  withdrew  his  forces  in  good  order 
without  a  single  effort  to  carry  the  English  entrenchments  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet,  leaving  Colonel  de  Salaberry,  with  scarcely 
300  Canadians,  masters  of  the  field.    Toward  the  close  of  the 
engagement.  Sir  George  Prevost,  with  Major-General  de  Watta- 
ville,  arrived  on  tho  ground. 

With  due  allowances  for  common  national  hyperbole,  what 
Mr.  Christie  addsof  encomium  on  the  prowess  of  Colonel  de  Sala- 


i  t 


!' 


(HT' '  4  . 


W: 


300 


HAMPTON    AGAIN    REPULSED. 


[OCT.,  1813. 


berry  and  his  Canadian  countrymen,  is  probably  well  founded. 
It  is  too  trur  (hat  a  few  hundred  of  them  worsted  an  army  of  be- 
tween 4000  and  5000  American  regulars,  whom  General  Hamp- 
ton had  been  for  some  time  assiduously  preparing  for  active  ser- 
vice, and  appeared  anxious  to  lead  to  the  capture  of  Montreal. 
For  his  intrepidity  and  coolness  in  this  unfortunate  affair,  Briga- 
dier-General George  Izard  was  promoted  to  be  a  major-general ; 
a  man  of  extensive  attainments,  elegant  education,  having  been  at 
the  military  college  of  Liege,  in  Flanders,  entering  the  army  very 
young  at  the  lowest  grade,  and  elevated  by  his  merits  to  the  high- 
est. Such  officers,  and  there  were  many  such,  could  not  withstand 
the  adverse  tide,  which  seemed  to  set  against  ojir  military  pro- 
gress, throughout  most  of  the  year  1813,  when  the  defeats  and 
dishonour  of  the  regular  army  under  veteran  commanders  ex- 
ceeded those  of  the  volunteers  and  militia,  to  whom  it  was  indis- 
pensable to  confide  the  first  operations  of  hostilities  the  year  be- 
fore. Daring  and  discipline  constantly  sustained  the  navy  through 
an  unbroken  career  of  victories,  while  the  regular  army,  without 
discipline  or  daring,  sometimes,  as  in  these  affairs  of  General 
Hampton  without  courage,  was  undergoing  a  continual  series  of 
mortifying  defeats.  Even  the  Aurora  could  not  deny,  or  the 
National  Intelligencer,  that  one  of  our  generals  who  was  to  out- 
general his  opponent,  had  wofully  failed  to  perform  his  promise. 
The  American  Daily  Advertiser  might  head  its  columns  in  capitals 
with  more  disasters ;  the  advocates  of  war  were  compelled  to 
endure  throughout  a  tedious  and  anxious  month  of  disappointed 
expectations,  daily  renewed  editions  of  more  and  more  disasters 
by  every  northern  mail,  till  the  bubble  of  Canadian  conquest 
burst  and  evaporated,  if  not  forever,  at  any  rate  for  that  war. 

After  lingering  between  Sackett's  Harbour  and  Fort  George 
from  the  middle  of  August  till  the  latter  end  of  October,  with 
no  doubt  many  difficulties,  privations  and  mortifications  to  make 
head  against ;  what  commander  of  an  army  has  not  ?  infinitely 
less,  however,  than  Greene  in  Carolina,  or  Jackson  in  Louisiana; 
General  Wilkinson,  at  last,  on  the  unlucky  21st  of  the  latter 
month,  embarked  his  army  at  Grenadier  Island,  near  Sackett's 
Harbour.  By  a  general  order  of  the  9th,  issued  by  Adjutant- 
General  VValbach,  it  was  formed  into  four  brigades  and  a  re- 
serve; the  first  brigade  composed  of  the  fifth,  twelfth  and  thir- 
teenth regiments  under  Brigadier-General  Boyd  ;  the  second,  of 


It*'  '■' 


1813. 


CHAP.  IX.] 


WILKIFoON'S    EMBARKATION. 


301 


the  twenty-second  and  fifteenth  regiments  under  Brigadier-Gene- 
ral Brown ;  the  third,  of  the  ninth,  twenty-fifth  and  sixteenth 
regiments  under  Brigadier-General  Covington;  the  fourth,  of  the 
eleventh,  twenty-first,  and  fourteenth  regiments  under  Brigadier- 
General  Swartwout;  the  reserve  under  Colonel  Macomb,  con- 
sisting of  his  regiment  and  the  detachments  ordered  to  join  him ; 
Major  Harkimer,  with  his  volunteers,  among  them ;  and  the  artil- 
lery under  Brigadier-General  Moses  Porter ;  the  dragoons  and 
rifles  to  be  disposed  of  according  to  circumstances  and  special 
orders.  The  Secretary  of  War  was  at  that  time  moving  about  the 
neighbourhood  of  Lake  Ontario,  at  Sackett's  Harbour,  Denmark, 
Antwerp,  Watertown,and  elsewhere,  as  occasion  required,  endea- 
vouring to  urge  the  dispatch  and  success  of  the  expedition  by  con- 
stant etibrts  to  preserve  harmony  among  its  leaders.  General  Har- 
rison also  arrived  about  the  same  time  with  M'Arthur's  brigade 
from  the  west,  and  sanguine  inhabitants  of  distant  places  were 
flattered  with  the  hope  that  he  would  perhaps  add  the  capture 
of  General  Vincent,  at  Burlington  heights,  to  that  of  Proctor's 
army  on  the  Thames,  as  he  was  preparing  to  do  when  ordered 
to  Sackett's  Harbour  to  supply  the  vacuum  there.  The  National 
Intelligencer,  the  National  Advocate,  of  New  York,  the  Balti- 
more Patriot,  even  some  of  the  Now  England  newspapers, 
abounded  with  arguments  and  reasons  for  the  conquest  of  Cana- 
da, why  and  how.  We  were  told  early  in  November,  upon 
semi-oHicial  authority,  that  Wilkinson's  army  was  concentrated 
with  Hampton's,  at  Montreal,  the  15th  October,  and  would  take 
Quebec  probably  in  May,  certainly  before  the  4th  July.  The 
inhabitants  of  Montreal  were  said  to  be  moving  their  valuables 
to  Quebec.  Hampton  was  only  waiting  for  fair  weather  to  sit 
down  before  Montreal  and  there  wait  for  Wilkinson.  Lateness 
of  season,  severity  of  weather  were  no  reason  to  fear  disappoint- 
ment, for  Montgomery  fell  at  Quebec  the  12th  November,  1775. 
"The  plan  of  the  campaign,"  said  that  cautious  court-journal, 
the  National  Intelligencer,  on  the  20th  November,  more  than  a 
week  after  its  utter  failure,  but  when  we  were  still  deluded  with 
assurance  of  its  success,  «  now  that  it  is  fully  developed,  is  the 
subject  of  universal  praise  in  the  army,  deep,  exact  and  com- 
prehensive." (The  plan  was  certainly  not  so  bad  as  the  execu- 
tion.) Wilkinson's  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  War  of  the  15th 
November,  assured  him,  as  a  fact,  that,  on  the  4th  of  that  month, 
VOL.  I. — 26 


1  I 


302 


WILKINSON'S    FLOTILLA. 


[OCT.,  1813. 


¥l 


't 


Bill' 


the  force  at  Montreal  was  but  400  marines  and  200  sailors  sent 
up  from  Quebec.  But  more  disuslers  were  at  liand  ;  until  dis- 
affection was  delighted  by  intelligence  of  the  defeat  of  what 
seemed  to  be  the  last  effort  of  the  war. 

The  secretary  left  the  lake  country  for  Albany  and  Washing- 
ton :  General  Harrison  soon  followed  the  same  way  home  to  the 
west.  On  the  26th  October,  the  president  returned  to  Washing- 
ton from  his  Virginia  residence,  restored  to  health,  awaiting  ad- 
vices of  Canadian  victories  for  his  forthcoming  annual  message 
to  Congress,  in  December,  just  before  the  session  opened  heralded 
by  accounts  of  the  total  and  inglorious  failure  of  another  year's 
Canadian  conquest. 

Embarking  at  Grenadier  island  in  more  than  300  boats,  pro- 
tected by  some  of  Chauncey's  squadron,  Wilkinson  committed 
his  fortune  to  the  waves  from  the  21st  October  to  (he  5th  No- 
vember, which  fortnight  it  consumed  to  get  out  of  the  lake  and 
into  the  river.  During  three  long  weeks,  as  long  as  it  requires 
by  sail,  near  twice  as  long  as  by  steam,  to  go  from  America  to 
Europe,  the  flotilla,  with  General  Wilkinson,  ill  and  morbid, 
crawled,  not  vigorously  or  confidently,  but  despondingly,  as 
the  order  in  council  of  war  at  Sackett's  Harbour  proposed,  to 
slip  down  to  Montreal.  The  Odyssey  of  a  calamitous  voyage 
was  written  every  day  in  the  general's  boat ;  mostly  bedridden, 
getting  continually  worse,  he  was  nearly  invisible  to  his  tem- 
pest-tossed followers.  There  were  not  boats  enough  even  at 
first ;  and  one-third  of  what  there  were,  were  stranded,  sunk, 
■wrecked,  or  otherwise  cast  away  in  the  transit ;  the  clothing  unfit 
for  an  inclement  and  boisterous,  wet  and  tempestuous  autumn  ; 
tho  navigation  extremely  difficult  and  hazardous ;  large  numbers 
of  officers  and  men,  like  their  general,  prostrate  by  illness;  conti- 
nually assailed  by  vigilant  and  skilful  enemies  on  the  water  and 
the  shores  from  batteries  at  every  turn  ;  with  shoals,  rapids,  fogs, 
storms;  provisions  unwholesome ;  clothing  soaked  with  water; 
ammunition  damaged  ;  unfaithful  or  ignorant  pilots — an  endless 
catalogue  of  misfortunes.  As  early  as  the  24th  October,  the 
general's  diary  recorded  irreparable  injuries,  deplored  blasted 
hopes,  and  prayed  for  relief  from  jeopardy.  When  the  explo- 
sion afterwards  took  place  between  him  and  Hampton,  Wilkin- 
son acknowledged  that  had  Hampton  joined  him  as  ordered, 
Wilkinson  intended  to  relinquish  the  command  to  his  rival,  so 


CHAP.  IX.] 


DESCENT    TO    MONTREAL. 


303 


conscious  was  he  of  his  own  inabiUty  for  it.  Sometimes,  though 
seldom,  he  landed  and  slept  on  shore,  but  always  disturbed  by 
the  fire  of  arms  which,  in  the  vigour  of  health  and  age,  would 
have  been  music  to  animate  him.  On  the  Gth  November,  when 
the  English  batteries  at  Prescott  were  to  be  passed,  he  debarked 
the  whole  army,  except  such  as  were  left  with  General  Brown 
to  pilot  the  flotilla  through  that  peril.  The  enemy's  brigs, 
schooners,  gunboats,  and  galleys,  led  by  the  gallant  Captain 
Mulcaster,gave  our  frailer  craft  no  repose  or  respite  from  attack. 
Brown  commanding  the  advance,  familiar  with  the  country, 
adroit  to  elude,  and  bold  to  face  dangers, — passed  the  boats 
through  in  the  night,  without  injury,  but  not  without  infinite 
uneasiness  to  the  commander-in-chief,  whose  febrile  prostration 
unfitted  him  for  such  occasions.  His  diary  noted  of  that  terrible 
but  harmless  night,  that  of  300  cannon  shot  fired  at  300  boats,  not 
one  struck,  and  only  one  man  was  killed.  Meantime  Hampton,  on 
the  1st  November,  wrote  from  Chateauguay  to  Armstrong  to  re- 
call his  attention  to  Hampton's  letters  of  the  22d  and  31st  August 
(which  tendered  his  resignation)  and  to  add  that  events  had  had 
no  tendency  to  change  his  opinion  of  the  destiny  intended  for 
him,  nor  his  determination  to  retire  from  a  service  where  he 
could  neither  feel  security  nor  expect  honour.  The  campaign 
I  consider  substantially  at  an  end,  said  this  letter.  Acceptance 
of  my  resignation  so  soon  as  the  troops  are  put  into  winter 
quarters,  is  what  1  trust  you  will  not  refuse  to  send  me  by  return 
of  Colonel  King.  Colonel  King  was  General  Hampton's  adju- 
tant-general. Not  finding  General  Armstrong  at  Sackett's  Har- 
bour, as  he  expected,  Colonel  King  visited  General  Wilkinson 
on  the  Gth  November,  whom  he  found  seven  miles  belov/  Og- 
densburg.  From  that  place  Wilkinson  wrote  by  King  to  Hamp- 
ton that  Wilkinson  was  destined  to,  and  determined  on  Montreal, 
for  which  the  division  under  General  Hampton's  command  must 
co-operate.  The  point  of  rendezvous  was  left  to  him;  but  St. 
Regis  indicated  as  the  place  of  meeting,  in  the  opinion  of  Wilkin- 
son's officers,  if  Hampton  was  not  in  force  to  face  the  enemy. 
Of  provisions,  Wilkinson  had  bread  for  fifteen  days  and  meat  for 
twenty ;  a  battering  train  and  plenty  of  fixed  ammunition  ;  but 
was  deficient  in  loose  powder  and  cartridges  of  which  Hampton 
must  bring  his  own.  The  Secretary  of  War  had  informed  Wilkin- 
son that  ample  magazines  of  provisions  were  laid  up  at  Chateau- 


304 


DESCENT    TO    MONTREAL. 


[NOV.,  1813. 


^ilJ  *';'?''i,-V''' a;     . 

■  i  ■. .         .    1."  ■  . 


lis  Si''- 


M  <-^:<i5 


guay.  On  the  8th  November  Hampton  answered  this  letter, 
deeply  impressed  with  the  responsibility  of  deciding  upon  the 
means  of  co-operation.  St.  Regis  was  most  pleasing  until  the 
amount  of  your  provisions  was  disclosed.  In  throwing  myself 
upon  your  scanty  means,  I  should  be  weakening  you  where  most 
vulnerable.  Consulting  my  principal  officers,  I  did  not  hesitate 
iipon  the  opinion  that  by  throwing  myself  back  on  my  main 
depot,  and  falling  upon  the  enemy's  flank,  straining  every  nerve 
to  open  a  communication  from  Plattsburg  to  Conawhaga,  or  any 
other  point  you  may  indicate  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  I  should 
more  elfectually  contribute  to  your  success  than  by  the  junction 
at  St.  Regis.  I  hope  to  be  able  to  prevent  your  starving.  Be- 
sides rawness  and  sickness,  my  troops  have  endured  fatigues 
equal  to  a  winter  campaign  in  the  late  snows  and  bad  weather, 
and  are  sadly  dispirited  and  fallen  oft".  What  can  be  accom- 
plished by  human  exertion  with  these  means,  I  will,  with  a  mind 
devoted  to  the  general  objects  of  the  campaign. 

On  the  7th,  8th  and  9th  November,  Wilkinson  moved  down 
the  St.  Lawrence,  as  if  still  expecting  to  meet  Hampton,  and 
march  on  Montreal ;  never  without  constant  interruptions  from 
the  indefatigable  enemy,  whom  he  never  turned  upon  and  crushed 
as  he  might  and  should  have  done.  Macomb,  Eustis,  Forsyth, 
McPherson  were  sent  ashore  to  beat  him  off",  and  efl'ected  it. — 
Drawing  near  the  current  of  Rapids  called  the  Sault,  the  leap  of 
waters,  a  cataract  of  eiglit  miles  descent,  the  general's  order  of 
the  day  declared  his  uneasiness  at  proceeding  where  it  said  there 
was  no  retreat,  no  landing,  no  turning  to  the  right  or  left,  and 
added  that  the  movement  of  yesterday  was  a  reproach  to  the 
service. 

From  this  time  it  is  painful  to  pursue  the  adventures  of  this 
ill-starred  voyage,  where  both  commanders  were  incapacitated  by 
temper  or  disease.  There  was  no  hope  of  success,  but  the  enter- 
prise was  doomed  to  unavoidable  defeat. 

The  battle  of  Chrysiler's  fields,  near  Williamsburg,  wliich  took 
place  on  the  10th  of  November,  1813,  was  the  last  act  of  the 
drama.  Accounts  of  it,  as  of  most  battles,  vary  largely,  according 
to  the  wishes  of  tiie  respective  reporters.  We  had  them  from  Co- 
lonel Morrison,  the  English  commander's  dispatch,  from  General 
Boyd's,  the  American  commander,  from  General  Wilkinson's 
diary,  and  Mr.  Christie  added  his  afterwards. 


CHAP.  IX.] 


BATTLE    OF    WILLIAMSBURG. 


305 


According  to  Christie,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Morrison,  with  gun 
boats,  on  the  29th  November,  took  possession  of  a  considerable 
quantityotprovisions  and  stores  belonging  to  the  American  army, 
with  two  pieces  of  ordnance.  Next  day  he  preased  so  close  upon 
it,  as  to  compel  Boyd's  brigade  to  concentrate  their  forces  and  give 
battle.  The  battle  of  Williamsburg,  or  Chrystler's  field,  which  he 
describes  at  large,  and  from  Colonel  Morrison's  official  dispatch, 
claims  the  victory — he  pronounces,  the  handsomest  affair  during 
the  war,  from  the  professional  science  displayed  by  the  adverse 
commanders  during  the  course  of  the  action  ;  and  when  the  pro- 
digious preparations  of  the  American  government  for  that  expedi- 
tion are  considered,  with  the  failure  of  which  their  hopes  of  con- 
quest vanished,  the  battle  of  Clirystler's  field  may  be  classed  as  an 
event  of  the  first  importance  in  the  defence  of  these  provinces. 
General  Armstrong  animadverted  severely  on  Wilkinson's  omis- 
sion to  take,  turn,  scatter  or  crush  that  attempt  of  an  enemy's  force 
in  his  rear,  to  retard,  impede  or  annoy  his  march,  as  palpable  vio- 
lation of  an  obvious  maxim  in  the  practice  of  all  great  captains. 
General  Wilkinson,  who  knew  no  more  of  the  affair  than  was  an- 
nounced to  his  pillow  by  the  distant  cannonade,  put  it  down  in  his 
diary  as  a  drawn  battle  in  which  our  raw  troops  behaved  with 
great  spirit.  General  Boyd,  who  commanded  them,  in  his  official 
report, claimed  a  decided  victory,  iiaving  driven  the  English  from 
the  ground,  of  which  he  remained  in  possession,  after  two  hours 
close  conflict,  the  enemy  not  venturing  to  renew  the  engagement 
next  day,  but  suffering  our  army  to  pursue  its  way  unmolested. 
Christie  says  that  Morrison  had  but  800  men  with  him.  English 
prisoners  reported  2,170.  Wilkinson  made  them  2500.  Boyd  had 
1(500;  led  by  himself.  General  Covington,  who  was  mortally 
wounded,  General  Swartwout,  (Covington  and  Swartwout  volun- 
teering for  the  action,)  Colonel  Pearce,  Colonel  Isaac  Coles, 
Colonel  Preston,  severely  wounded,  236  of  our  people  were 
wounded,  and  100  killed,  at  Williamsburg;  the  English  loss 
by  their  account  much  less,  by  our  account  much  more.  To- 
wards evening  they  withdrew  to  their  camp,  the  Americans 
to  their  boats.  That  battle  was  one  of  those  dear-boug!it 
lessons  in  the  hard  noviciate  of  our  army,  which,  if  well  com- 
manded, might  have  inspired  the  confidence,  and  insured  a  vic- 
tory to  carry  it  to  Montreal.     Instead  of  that,  as  Clirystie  justly 

26* 


'%■' 


'■  rc.%r 


^ML: 


'Mi 


tM-i'".".     ,  •■■■     ,»  ;i   , 


■  -  -^ Mr- ■.■.;,> -i, - 


308 


BATTLE    OF    WILLIAMSBURG. 


[NOV.,  1813. 


boasts,  it  disconcerted,  discouraged,  and  frustrated  the  most  ex- 
tensive undertaking  oi  the  war  of  18ia.     Witliout  odious  com- 
parison, posterity  may  ask  how  a  twelvemontii  afterwards  Jack- 
son, as  ill  as  Wilkinson,  witliout  a  sixth  of  his  regular  force,  and 
much  greater  liinderances,  conquered  a  vastly  more  formidable 
foe.    From  his  triple  posts  at  Mobile,  IJaton  Rouge  and  New  Or- 
leans, he  watclied  with  eagle  eye  the  lion's  approach,  penetrated 
his  design  and  crushed  his  movement.    Tlie  battle  of  Williams- 
burg was  to  Wilkinson  what  Jackson's  admirable  onset  of  the  23d 
of  December  was  to  Fakenham.    The  English  in  Canada,  like  the 
Americans  in  Louisiana,  struck  the  fir^t   blow,  contended  for 
every  inch,  confronted  every  advance,  harassed,  disconcerted,  de- 
moralized and  thusdefeated  their  assailants.  Clamorous  exultation 
awards  to  the  victory  of  the  8th  of  January  the  applause  more 
due  to  the  drawn  battle  of  the  23d  of  December,  which  was  the 
first  step  to  that  consummation.     So,  at  Williamsburg,  unless 
Wilkinsoii  was  in  bodily  health  and  mental  vigour  personally 
to  command  complete  repulsion  of  the  Englisli  attack,  defeat  his 
enemy  there,  and  follow  him  everywhere  till  he  had  crushed 
him,  further  proceeding  was  in  vain.      His  invasion  of  Canada 
was  defeated.    The  IJriiish  and  Canadian  troops  deserve  great 
credit  for  the  persevering  and  invincible  spirit  in  which  they  met 
that  formidable  invasion,  fortified  every  pass  on  the  St.  Lawrence, 
siezed  every  opportunity  of  harassing,  impeding,  and  assailing 
our  army,  until  at  last  they,  more  than  storms  and  casualties,  more 
than  Hampton's  defection,  forced  it  to  dishonoured  defeat ;  when 
every  officer  engaged  in  the  battle  of  Williamsburg  gave  assurance 
of  conduct,  which,  well  led,  was  the  pledge  of  victory.  The  battle 
of  Williamsburg  was  the  first  of  those  Canadian  tournaments  be- 
tween the  regular  armies  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,, 
which,  next  year,  without  a'dequate  combination  or  plans  on  our 
part,  a  talent  yet  wanting  to  the  brave  commanders  of  the  northern 
army,  nevertheless,  co-operated  with  the  naval  victories,  to  pro- 
duce the  peace  of  Ghent.    Colonel  Pearce,  who  took  command  of 
the  third  brigade  when  Covington  fell,  Swartwout,  Gaines,  Rip- 
ley, Morgan,  Grafton,  Wallack,  Beebee,  Chambers,  Johnson, 
Cammings,  Worth,  Whiting,  were  mentioned  with  distinction. 
General  Boyd's  indefinite  order  from  General  Wilkinson,  was  to 
beat  back  the  enemy.  If  Wilkinson  had  been  in  health  and  spirits 
to  head  his  troops,  and  not  only  beat  back  but  follow  up  the 


CHAP.  IX.] 


FAILURE     OF    THE    EXPEDITION. 


307 


enemy  till  demolisiied,  he  might  probably  iiave  gone  to  Montreal, 
even  without  Hampton's  reinCoreenient. 

The  continual  discomforts,  aimoyances  and  alarmsof  an  enter- 
prise (or  which  General  Wilkinson  was  incapacitated  by  disease, 
completely  demoralized  the  commander-in-cliief.  Rejoicing  not 
that  he  iiad  vanqnisned  but  escaped  from  the  enemy,  from  the 
rapids,  the  storms  and  the  various  sinister  casualties  of  the  pro- 
tracted voyage.  Wilkinson,  at  last,  with  more  than  three-fourths 
of  liis  way  won  to  Montreal,  was  without  any  considerable  force 
to  prevent  his  getting  there,  even  without  junction  witli  Hampton, 
whose  corps  would  at  any  rate  have  served  as  a  reserve  to  that 
of  Wilkinson,  who  believed  tliat  there  were  but  few  English 
troops  between  him  and  the  goal  of  liis  race.  On  the  12th 
of  November,  Colonel  Scott  serving  under  General  Brown 
in  the  advance,  fifteen  miles  ahead  of  Wilkinson,  routed  the 
English  under  Colonel  Dennis,  each  party  about  800  strong, 
at  Hoophole  creek,  and  took  many  of  them  prisoners.  The 
opinion  of  both  those  gallant  otiicers  and  most  others  with  the 
best  opportunity  of  knowing,  was,  that  Montreal  was  within 
their  reach  and  power.  The  toils,  risks,  losses,  mortifications  of 
the  campaign  were  all  to  be  gloriously  made  amends  for,  wlien 
the  expedition  was  blasted  on  the  12th  of  November,  the  anni- 
versary of  Montgomery's  fall  at  Quebec,  nearly  forty  years 
before. 

On  that  unlucky  day,  Inspector-General  Atkinson  arrived  at 
General  Wilkinson's  head  quarters  with  a  letter  from  General 
Hampton,  refusing  to  join  the  expedition  or  proceed  further  into 
Canada.  On  these,  there  is  too  much  reason  to  apprehend,  from 
Wilkinson's  morbid  prostration,  to  him  not  unwelcome  tidings, 
which  relieved  liim  from  all  further  suspense,  he  forthwith  re- 
sorted to  that  panacea  for  such  predicaments,  a  council  of  war, 
by  which  it  was  unanimously  resolved,  that  the  conduct  of  Major- 
General  Hampton,  in  refusing  to  join  his  division  to  the  troops 
descendi  g  the  St.  Lawrence,  to  carry  an  attack  against  Mon- 
treal, rendered  it  expedient  to  remove  General  Wilkinson's 
army  to  French  Mills'  on  Salmon  river.  Brown  and  Scott 
were  recalled,  and  that  resolve  was  at  once  put  in  effect  the  next 
day.  Arrived  there  and  established  in  winter  quarters,  Wil- 
kinson wrote  to  Armstrong  for  permission  to  proceed  to  take 
the  Isle  aux  Noix,  and  for  leave  of  absence  from  the  army 


«^' 


308 


WILKINSON'S     FAILURE. 


[NOV.,  1813. 


iM 


yt>'l 


*-:k 


to  recruit  his  strength  and  spirits,  after  his  inglorions  campaign. 
Soon  after,  he  ordered  Ilamplon  to  be  arrested  and  brought  to 
court  martial,  whose  resignation  was  again  tendered  and  fmally 
accepted  in  March  following.  Wilkinson  was  tried  and  acquitted. 
But  history  will  recollect  his  failure  and  forget  his  acquittal ;  al- 
though English  accounts  at  that  period  represented  their  forces  in 
Canada  as  imposing.  Halifax  Journals  mentioned  15,000  regular 
soldiers  there,  and  threatened  a  winter  campaign  against  the 
United  Slates.  The  King's  Son,  Captain  Hanchctt's  ship,  the  Dia- 
dem, arrived  witli  others,  landing  KiOO  marines,  and  400  seamen 
at  Quebec.  It  may  be,  therefore,  that  General  Wilkinson's  esti- 
mate of  the  enemy's  weakness  was  erroneous.  But  according  to 
his  own  belief  a  bold  and  fortunate  general  would  have  afforded 
the  many  brave  young  men  in  that  army,  the  opportunity  they 
sighed  for,  of  at  least  striking  the  deadly  blow  somewhere,  which 
the  council  of  war  presided  by  Wilkinson  at  Sackett's  Harbour, 
on  his  arrival  there,  resolved  was  due  to  the  honour  and  interests 
of  the  country.  In  his  memoirs,  Wilkinson  ridicules  the  ten 
thousand  huts  which  the  Secretary  of  War  had  ordered  for 
his  army's  winter  quarters  in  Canada.  Yet  as  a  striking  proof 
of  what  may  be  done  in  winter,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  when 
Wilkinson's  army  left  French  Mills  the  13th  of  February,  18M, 
the  second  regiment  of  artillery  performed  a  march  of  sixty-nine 
miles,  with  their  cannon  on  slods,  from  nine  o'cl  'k  one  morn- 
ing to  eleven  o'clock  the  next.  The  Florida  war,  after  many  in- 
active campaigns,  at  length  brought  to  a  close  in  one  conducted 
during  summer,  in  a  climate  much  more  fatal  in  summer  than 
winter  in  Canada;  the  exploit  of  General  Worth,  is  another  to 
be  added  to  numerous  demonstrations,  and  indeed  the  philosophy 
of  military  power,  that  movement,  action,  boldness,  what  Shak- 
speare  calls  industrious  soldiership,  is  the  great  method  of  suc- 
cess in  war. 

Overruling  Providence  ordered  it  otherwise,  by  means  of  our 
inefficient  leaders  in  1813  and  1813.  The  first  year  of  volun- 
teers and  militia,  the  second  with  regular  soldiers,  only  raw  re- 
cruits, indeed,  but  led  by  veteran  commanders,  were  the  noviciate 
which  nations  sometimes  undergo  in  arms,  however  severe,  yet 
salutary,  if  the  martial  spirit  is  not  extinct.  The  Aurora  and  Na- 
tional Intelligencer  comforted  the  public  in  December,  with  recol- 
lections that  it  cost  Great  Britain  four  unfortunate  campaigns 


CHAP.  IX.] 


PUBLIC    PRESS. 


309 


to  wrest  Caiiatlfi  from  tlie  French,  and  lliat  tribulation  was  tho 
wholesome  trial  of  our  republican  arms.  The  president  did  not 
even  allude  in  iiis  aimual  message  to  Congress,  at  our  second 
session  the  7th  of  December,  1813,  to  the  terrible  blows  just  then 
inflicted  on  the  war  by  the  northern  army.  That  task  was  pru- 
dently left  to  the  public  press.  Tlie  National  Intelligencer,  Bal- 
timore Patriot,  Democratic  Press,  National  Advocate,  Boston 
Patriot,  New  Hampshire  Patriot,  Niles'  Register,  and  other  well- 
disposed  northern  })ublic  journals,  with  ditiiculty  apologized  for 
our  disgraceful  mishaps,  of  which  the  last  and  worst  that  year, 
which  took  place  on  the  Niagara,  remains  to  be  told,  and  which 
dark  columns  of  more  disasters  in  tho  many  disaflected  news- 
papers, overshadowed  all  attempts  to  varnish.  The  Boston  Ga- 
zette, prominent  in  opposition,  published  in  strains  of  thanks- 
giving :  "  Every  hour  is  fraught  with  doleful  tidings :  humanity 
groans  from  the  frontiers.  Hampton's  army  is  reduced  to  about 
aooO;  Wilkinson's  cut  up  and  famishing;  crimination, and  recri- 
mination the  order  of  the  day.  Democracy  has  rolled  herself  up 
in  weeds,  and  laid  down  for  its  last  wallowing  in  the  slough  of 
disgrace.  Armstrong,  the  cold-blooded  director  of  all  the  military 
anarchy,  is  chopfallen. 

•  Now  lift,  ye  Saints,  your  heads  on  high, 
And  shout,  I'oi-  your  redemption's  nigh.'  " 

These  d(>adly  blows  of  disaster  and  ridicule  struck  Congress 
in  session  at  the  seat  of  government,  shooting  from  all  parts  of 
the  north  and  east.  Generals  Harrison,  Hampton  and  Boyd,  with 
General  Armstrong,  were  there  when  complete  ruin  from  Cham- 
plain  to  Erie  marked  the  retrograde  of  our  arms,  and  closed  the 
year  1813  with  a  destructive  invasion  of  New  York. 

My  sketch  of  these  events  is  extremely  imperfect :  unavoid- 
ably so.  Many  gallant  oliicers  are  yet  living  who  served  in 
Wilkinson's  or  Hampton's  divisions  in  1813,  who  owe  their 
country  fuller  and  better  accounts  than  a  distant  observer  can 
give  of  those  memorable  transactions.  The  romantic  scenery  of 
their  adventures,  the  mad  conflict  of  their  commanders,  the  for- 
lorn fortunes  of  their  enterprise,  the  wild  uncultivated  regions  then 
where  now  great  sea-ports  and  cities  flourish,  canals,  railroads, 
noble  establishments,  the  resort  and  delight  of  innumerable 
travelers  from  Europe  as  well  as  America,  attracted  by  the 
Falls  of  Niagara,  the  beauties  of  the  lake  country,  and  the  facili- 
ties of  travehng— invite  the  pens  of  many  educated  and  accom- 


310 


FORT    O  F,ORf;K 


[DKr„  1813. 


mm 


mMM 


plishod  survivors  of  the  Amorican  army  of*  1S13,  regular  and 
voliiiitcor,  to  the  patriotic  and  pleasing  duly  of  rt'scuini,'  Croin 
oblivion  llie  circunistanfcs  hut  liiintly  prcscnti'd  in  this  skiiicli. 

Colonel  Scott  was  left  by  (lonoral  Wilkinson  in  rhargt)  of  Fort 
Clt'orgo,  our  only  foothold,  after  nearly  two  years  etibrt,  in  that 
part  of  Canada.  Eager  to  share  the  honours  of  the  capture  of 
Montr(!al,  Scott,  as  permitted,  left  the  fort  under  conitnand  of 
General  McClure,  of  the  New  York  militia,  and  hastened  by 
flood  and  field  to  overtake  his  leader  to  glory.  Soon  afti.'r  his 
departure  the  fatal  catastrophe  of  our  fjorder  warfare  completed 
its  abominable  mischiefs.  Prevost,  always  alert  and  able,  ordered 
Lieutenant-General  Drummond,  a  portly  Enirlishman,  to  com- 
mand Upper  Canada,  in  place  of  iMajor-Cleneral  de  Rottenberg, 
and  Drummond  resolved  with  his  1200  men  to  retake  Fort 
George.  Both  sides  of  the  Niagara  had  been  from  April  till 
December  distracted  by  the  disgraceful  hostilities  of  border  war- 
fare, in  which  the  Americans  were  the  aggressors,  and  doomed 
to  be  the  greatest  sufferers.  Western  New  York  was,  before  the 
year  ended, desolated  by  British  reaction,  transcending  American 
aggression,  which  we  cannot  deny  provoked,  however  severe, 
that  retaliation. 

McClure  proved  no  match  for  Drummond  in  spirit,  if  in  force, 
or  for  Colonel  Murray  who  brought  on  the  English  advance. 
After  a  vapouring  proclamation  to  the  Canadians,  as  if  they  were 
a  conquered  people,  our  general,  on  the  defeat  of  one  of  his  scout- 
ing parties,called  a  council  of  war,  which  resolved  to  abandon  Fort 
George  as  untenable  ;  though  Colonel  Scott  left  it  well  garnished 
with  artillery,  and  provided  with  ammunition,  with  open  commu- 
n.cjilion  to  our  side  of  the  river,  and  complete  for  resistance. 
A  council  of  war  nevertheless  resolved  to  dismantle  and  abandon 
it,  and  remove  the  garrison  to  Fort  Niagara  on  the  American  side. 
There  would  have  been  no  great  harm  in  that,  however  diyrepuia- 
ble,  without  firing  a  gun.  But  it  was  furthermore  resolved  in  tiiis 
the  most  reprehensible  of  all  our  war  councils,  to  destroy  such  Ca- 
nadian villages  and  places  in  front  of  Fort  George  as  might  afford 
the  enemy  shelter  during  the  winter.  Accordingly,  says  Christie, 
pursuant  to  directions  of  the  American  Secretary  of  War,  (which 
was  not  r'lo  'ao%)  McClure  precipitately  evacuated  Fort  George 
on  the  12th  of  Docember,  after  dismantling  it,  set  fire  to  the 
flourishing:  village   of  Nevark,  containing  about   150   houses, 


CffAf     X.) 


QtlKKNSTOWN     DURNF.D, 


811 


rcdiipod  to  aslics,  leaving  tlif^  wretcliud  iDliabitaiits,  inclmliiig 
moro  than  400  wotnuii  and  cliildn  i,  to  the  uccunnilaicd  liorrors 
of  fatnint!  and  a  (Canadian  wintfr.  That  was  nut  all  :  alter 
McCli;ro  retreated  over  th(!  river,  and  look  shelter  in  Fort 
Niagara,  perceiving  the  enemy  in  considerahle  Corce  on  the  oppo- 
site side,  deprived  of  a  shelter  at  Fort  George,  and  therefore 
siHiking  it  ut  Qneenstown,  McClnri;  had  red  hot  shot  fired  ut 
that  place  to  deprive  them  of  shcilter  there  also.  The  Hritish, 
under  Murray,  .'JOO  men,  tnostly  militia  anti  Indians,  the  Indians 
now  to  have  nn  occasion  in  which  their  savage  nature  would  be 
indnlg(!d  to  the  uttermost,  immediately  occupied  Fort  (leorge. 
The  barbarous  |>olicy,  says  Christie,  of  the  American  govern- 
ment, exasperated  the  army  as  well  as  the  inhabitants  of  the 
frontier,  of  whose  impatience  for  retaliation  General  Urummond 
promptly  availed  himst.'lf,  by  adopting  the  resolution  of  carrying 
the  American  Fort  Niagara  by  surprise.  Signal,  though  atro- 
cious, vengeance  was  taken  of  American  misconduct,  perhaps 
the  first,  certainly  the  worst  of  the  kind  that  occurred  during  the 
war,  contrary  to  the  manner  in  which  it  was  uniformly  waged 
on  our  part,  which  became  the  subject  of  long  correspondence 
betwt^en  the  Secretary  of  State,  Monroe,  and  the  English  de- 
fenders of  it,  and  was  pleaded  in  justification  for  attacks  on 
Washington,  Baltiiuore  and  New  Orleans,  threats  of  them  on 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  even  Boston  next  year.  Every- 
thing conspired  to  disgrace  our  arms  in  that  affair.  Aware  pro- 
bably of  the  shameful  negligence  of  the  garrison  at  Fort  Ni- 
agara, at  any  rate  bursting  with  indignation,  it  was  made  known 
on  both  sides  of  the  river  that  the  enemy  intended  to  surprise  it. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem  they  almost  gave  notice  of  their  design. 
Our  general  retired  from  the  fort  to  Butfalo,  without  cautioning 
the  regular  officers  in  charge  of  it,  that  it  was  to  be  surprised 
and  taken.  Those  officers  were  a  captain  of  artillery,  and  two 
captains  of  inAintry,  all  having  companies  of  regular  soldiers 
there ;  but  not  one  of  the  officers  in  the  fort  or  near  it  when 
assaulted.  Those  unworthy  sentinels  of  a  deserted  post  were 
somewhere  else  on  business  or  pleasure,  instead  of  where  they 
were  bound  to  be.  Publicly  preparing  for  the  enterprise,  de- 
liberately waiting  some  days  for  batteaux  brought  by  land  from 
Burlington,  as  Jiere  were  but  two  boats  on  the  English  shore  of 
the  Niagara,  on  the  night  ol   he  18lh  of  December  Colonel  Mur- 


p.i'^^ 


\^'^-Ur'^': 


It.*  fi',f  ■  ■  ■'■  ■  ■■'■ 

mm 


t^;:^.\'\^^ 


i*'vi '''■■->■■■,•,«■.- 


813 


FORT    NIAGARA    SURPRISED. 


[DEC,  1813. 


ray  crossed  with  550  men,  landed  a  few  miles  from  the  fort, 
quietly  approached,  cut  off  the  picquets,  surprised  the  sentinels 
on  the  glacis  and  at  the  gate,  and  efl'ected  an  entrance  at  the 
main  gate.  After  a  feeble  resistance,  the  garrison,  without  a 
single  commanding  officer,  surrendered  at  discretion  ;  which  ren- 
ders what  ensued  worse  than  if  the  place  liad  been  carried  by 
storm  instead  of  surprise.  The  British  lost  one  lieutenant  and 
five  men  lulled,  Colonel  Murray  and  three  men  wounded.  Six(y- 
five  of  our  men  were  put  to  death  with  the  bayonet,  many  in 
bed,  some  in  the  hospital,  two  officers  and  twelve  men  wounded 
by  enraged  militia  and  Indians^,  whom  Colonel  Murray  perhaps 
would  hardly,  or  was  not  anxious  to  restrain,  for  it  was  an  inroad 
of  revenge  and  extermination,  of  which  these  homicides  were 
only  the  beginning.  Murray  took  in  the  fort  300  soldiers  of  the 
regular  army,  an  immense  quantity  of  commissariat  stores,  3000 
stand  of  arms,  several  pieces  of  ordnance.,  and  a  great  number  of 
rifles.  Worse  than  all,  he  took  and  the  enemy  kept  Fort  Niagara 
and  our  soil  thenceforward  as  long  as  the  war  lasted.  This, 
however,  was  only  the  beginning  of  the  abominations,  brought  on 
ourselves  in  that  quarter,  where  in  the  so-called  patriot  outbreaks 
latterly,  the  burning  of  the  steamboat  Caroline  and  other  gross 
irregularities,  there  seems  to  be  a  fatality  in  the  intercourse  be- 
tween tlie  two  countries,  too  near  to  be  good  neighbours. 

At  Washington,  just  before  tidings  of  these  frontier  disasters, 
on  the  2Sth  December,  Decatur's  official  letter  from  New  London 
Was  published,  declaring,  on  the  authority  of  the  honest  editor 
of  a  federal  newspaper  there,  that  blue-lights  were  distinctly  seen 
burning  on  both  points  of  the  harbour,  as  signals  to  the  Jkitish 
blockading  squadron,  whenever  ours  attempted  to  go  to  sea  ; 
the  creation  of  that  party,  as  it  was  claimed,  the  glory  of  the 
country,  the  terror  of  England  und  the  admiration  of  the  world, 
the  navy,  to  be  sacrificed  to  the  fell  spirit  of  fiiction.  The  same 
day,  together  with  the  authentic  report  of  that  traitorous  disaf- 
fection, car  "  tidings  that  pursuant  to  orders  from  the  Secretary  of 
War,  Fori  George,  being  untenable,  had  been  razed  and  aban- 
doned. And  that  gloomy  day,  too,  the  House  of  Representatives 
was  adjourned  by  the  clerk  soon  after  it  met,  because  of  the 
Speaker,  Mr.  Clay's,  absence,  preventing,  with  Mr.  Rufus  King 
and  other  friendly  mediators,  a  duel  appreliended  from  a  chal- 
lenge by  Mr.  Grosvenor,  accepted  by  Mr   Calhoun,  for  words 


CHAP.  IX.] 


CAPTURE    OF    FORT    NIAGARA. 


313 


some  days  before  spoken  between  them  in  the  House.     That 
was  the  day,  also,  of  Mr.  Hanson's  renewal  of  Mr.  Webster's 
motion  of  the  session  before,  accusing  the  administration  of 
French  influence.    Next  day  it  was  published,  semi-official ly, 
that  our  militia-general  had  been  obliged  to  destroy  Fort  George 
because  the  time  of  his  men  was  out  and  they  refused  to  stay 
longer.      Others  called  out  had  not  come,  nor  volunteers,  for 
whom  efforts  were  ineffectually  made.    The  Secretary  of  War 
had  not  authorized  the  burning  of  Queenstown,  it  was  said, 
unless  it  became  necessary  in  defending  Fort  George ;  and  the 
policy  of  the  whole  proceeding  was  questioned.    The  day  after, 
a  paragraph  headed  "  Disastrous  and  Shocking"  stopped  the 
press  to  tell  part  of  the  whole  truth ;  an  express  had  arrived 
stating  that  the  Sunday  before  3000  British  regulars  stormed  Fort 
Niagara,  murdered  the  whole  garrison,  burned  the  villages  of 
Lewistown  and  Manchester,  together  with  every  building  be- 
tween there  and  Niagara,  massacred  several  families  named, 
and  were  on  their  way  to  Buffalo,  laying  waste  everything  they 
fell  in  with.    All  this  and  more,  much  more,  turned  out  to  be  too 
true.     General  Lewis  Cass,  dispatched  to  the  scene,  officially 
reported,  from  Williamsville,  that,  having  visited  the  ruins  of 
Buffalo,  he  had  never  witnessed  such  distress  and  destruction  ; 
though  he  had  seen  much  the  year  before  at  Detroit,  Maiden, 
and  on  the  Thames,  when  Hull  surrendered  and  Proctor  fled 
from  the  flames  he  lit  up.      Our  loss  of  character  was  greater 
than  that  of  life  and  property.    General  Cass  ascertained  that  the 
troops  reported  to  have  done  the  devastation,  were  but   650 
men,  regulars,  militia,  and  Indians ;  the  Indians,  superhuman 
for  stratagems,  spoils,  and  slaughter,  but  helpless  for  taking  a 
fort,  except  by  surprise,  the  militia  not  much  more  to  be  feared ; 
so  that  our  nearly  400  regulars  in  the  fort  had  been  easily  con- 
quered by  an  equal,  perhaps  less  number ;  to  oppose  whom  we 
had  between  2500  and  3000  militia,  all,  except  very  few  of  them, 
behaving,  said  General  Cass,  in  the  most  cowardly  manner.    Ma- 
jor-General  Riall  followed  Murray  over  the  Niagara,  with  rein- 
forcements, ten  days  after,  crossed  again,  on  the  28th  December, 
attacked  Black  Kock  and  Buffiilo,  burned  both  those  places,  with 
three  of  our  vessels,  captured  a  good  many  cannons ;  killed  or 
wounded  some  hundred  men  and  took  130  prisoners,  among  the 

VOL.  I. — 27 


314 


AGGRAVATED  WAR. 


[DEC,,  1813. 


1*. .  • 

mi     . 

Mr 


rest,  Major  Chapin,  who  had  acquired  notoriety  by  his  activity 
as  a  partisan  in  that  vicinity. 

While  this  little  war  was  waging  in  Canada,  the  mightiest  of 
all  modern  wars  was  drawing  to  a  close  by  the  winter's  cam- 
paign of  the  Emperor  of  the  French,  defeated  and  driven  out  of 
Germany,  deserted  by  his  conquests  and  married  alliances,  both 
his  own  and  his  imperial  consort's  families,  bravely  and  inflexi- 
bly, but  in  vain  contending  for  the  throne,  he  was  compelled 
to  abdicate  in  April,  1814,  at  Fontainbleau.  Great  Britain  dic- 
tated her  own  conquering  terms  in  the  French  capital :  and  was 
enabled  to  turn  against  the  United  States,  without  European 
diversion,  her  thousand  ships  of  war,  thousands  of  soldiers,  and 
five  hundred  millions  of  dollars  of  annual  revenue.  An  elabo- 
rate letter  of  the  Secretary  of  State,  Monroe,  to  the  English 
naval  commander-in-chief,  Cochrane,  explained  our  alleged  mis- 
conduct in  Canada — at  all  events  amply  atoned  for  by  British 
retaliation,  immediately  desolating  a  hundred-fold  the  places 
and  the  property ;  destroying  life  and  inflicting  misery  in  still 
greater  proportion.  But  the  decree  of  Great  Britain's  mighty 
vengeance  had  been  pronounced— that  the  United  States  should 
be  not  only  punished  for  audacious  hostilities  against  their  mo- 
ther country,  declared  at  the  dictation  of  the  French  usurper  she 
had  overthrown ;  but  that  furthermore,  parts  of  the  American 
states  should  be  subdued  to  their  former  allegiance ;  the  Indians 
restored  to  all  the  lands  they  had  been  driven  from ;  and  the 
slaves  not  set  free ;  (for  the  fever  of  abolition  had  not  then  begun 
to  burn  in  English  bosoms)  but  captured  and  taken  to  the  West 
India  Islands,  there  to  be  sold  as  property  to  new  masters.  Em- 
boldened by  the  continual  series  of  American  discomfitures, 
without  much  interruption,  from  the  beginning  of  the  war,  during 
the  first  eighteen  months  of  its  progress ;  and  intoxicated  with 
her  own  successes  at  the  same  time  everywhere  in  Spain,  Ger- 
many, Italy,  France,  and  America,  England  conceived  plans  of 
American  punishment  and  conquest  just  when  American  organi- 
zation and  discipline  were  becoming  formidable  ;  the  army  soon 
purged  of  senilities,  filled  with  young  commanders  thirsting  for 
renown  ;  and  that  naval  ascendency  which  was  the  pure  result 
of  superior  discipline  and  seamanship  so  completely  established, 
both  morally  and  physically,  that  every  American  sailor  fought 
the  English,  as  the  English  theretofore  fought  the  French,  sure 


CHAP.  IX.] 


AGGRAVATED    WAR. 


315 


that  to  fight  was  to  conquer ;  while  every  English  sailor  appre- 
hended, as  the  French  had  done,  that  no  fighting  could  prevent 
defeat.  The  years  18ia  and  1813,  excepting  the  sea-fights,  were 
almost  always  annals  of  American  defeats.  Duriiig  the  years 
1814  and  18 15,  the  full  tide  of  success,  with  one  or  two  momentary 
counter-currents,  constantly  flowed  in  our  favour;  and  every 
battle  by  land  and  by  water,  was  an  American  triumph,  till  the 
war  closed  in  a  blaze  of  victory  on  shore,  with  brilliant  corrusca- 
tions  illuminating  the  ocean.  All  these  final  battles  took  place 
sometime  after  a  mere  cessation  of  hostilities,  by  treaty,  without 
the  settlement  of  a  single  principle  in  conflict,  or  the  slightest  in- 
fluence from  the  Russian  mediation,  (so  much  relied  upon  by  the 
American  government,)  but  attributable  mainly,  if  not  altogether, 
to  the  successes  of  the  navy,  of  American  armies  in  Canada,  and 
to  the  upraised  spirit  of  the  nation  everywhere,  gloriously  crown- 
ed by  victorious  conclusion  at  New  Orleans  after  the  peace. 

On  the  20th  of  December,  1813,  a  motion  was  submitted  to 
the  House  of  Representatives,  that  a  committee  should  be  ap- 
pointed to  make  adequate  and  permanent  provision  for  the  sup- 
port of  all  officers,  soldiers  and  marines,  disabled  by  wounds  in 
the  military  service  of  the  United  States,  also,  for  the  support  of 
the  widows  and  education  of  the  children  of  all  officers,  soldiers 
and  marines  fallen  in  the  service,  naval  6r  military.  This  motion 
was  laid  upon  the  table,  and  never  called  up  again :  perhaps  too 
extensive  and  premature,  at  least  till  the  soldiers  of  the  revolu- 
tion were  provided  for,  or  those  of  the  war  of  1812,  who  long 
survive  it,  shall  cc  me  to  the  advantages  of  interval  between  their 
services  and  their  rewards. 


316 


CREEK    CAMPAIGN. 


[MARCH,  1813. 


mi 


11 


m--.iM 


vKf 


^^r 


r»4  V  r»  Iff '  ■,'.' 


CHAPTER    X. 

SOUTHERN  CAMPAIGN  AGAINST  THE  CREEK  INDIANS.— ACT  OF  CON- 
GRESS FOR  TAKING  POSSESSION  OF  THAT  PART  OF  LOUISIANA 
WHICH  SPAIN  WITHHELD  AS  PART  OF  FLORIDA.— ?IOBI^E  SEIZED  BY 
GENERAL  WILKINSON.— TECUMSEH  AND  HIS  BROTHER,  THE  PRO- 
PHET, VISIT  THE  CREEKS  TO  ROUSE  THEM  TO  WAR.— SPANISH  CON- 
NIVANCE WITH  ENGLAND  FOR  THIS  PURPOSE.— CREEK  REVOLT  AND 
CIVIL  WAR.— FORT  MITCHELL.— INDIAN  PATRIOT  AND  PEACE  PARTY, 
THE  YOUNG  FOR  WAR,  THE  OLD  OPPOSE  IT.— OUTBREAK.— DESUL- 
TORY MURDERS.— MASSACRE  AT  FORT  MIMMS.— GEORGIA  AND  TEN- 
NESSEE UNDERTAKE  THEIR  OWN  DEFENCE.— GEORGIA  MILITIA.— 
GENERALS  FLOYD  AND  FLOURNOY.— TENNESSEE  MILITIA.  — GENE- 
RALS WHITE,  CLAIBORNE,  COFFEE,  CARROLL,  JACKSON.— BATTLES 
OF  TALLUSHATCHEE,  TALLEDEGA,  ECCONOCHACCA,  AND  HILLA- 
BEE.— MILITIA  AND  VOLUNTEERS  OF  TENNESSEE  AND  GEORGIA  IN- 
SUBORDINATE.—MANY  OF  THEM  GO  HOME.— CAMPAIGN  SUSPENDED 
FOR  WANT  OF  TROOPS.— CHARACTER  OF  SUDDEN  LEVIES  FOR  SHORT 
SERVICE.  —  REINFORCEMENTS.  —  ANDREW  JACKSON.  —  BATTLE  OP 
EMUCHFAU  OR  THE  HORSE-SHOE.— INDIANS  SUBDUED— DISPERSED 
—SUE  FOR  PEACE.— WE ATHERFORD  SURRENDERS  HIMSELF  TO  JACK- 
SON.—MEETING  OF  GENERALS  PINCKNEY  AND  JACKSON  AT  TOU- 
LOUSE.—SPANISH  TREATY  OF  1795.  — NEGOTIATED  BY  PINCKNEY, 
ENFORCED  BY  JACKSON.— REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  PAST  AND  FUTURE 
ACTIONS  OF  THOSE  TWO  GENERALS— AS  TO  THE  EFFPXTS  OF  THE 
CREEK  CAMPAIGN.— PRESIDENT'S  MESSAGE  TO  CONGRESS  ON  THE 
SUBJECT. 

We  have  seen  in  the  first  chapter  of  this  Historical  Sketch, 
that  the  war  was  premised  by  tlie  admission  of  the  State  of 
Louisiana  into  the  Union  in  April,  1812,  preceding  the  declara- 
tion of  war  in  June.  A  future  chapter,  in  another  volume,  will 
show  its  conclusion  by  the  total  defeat  of  the  enemy  at  New 
Orleans,  the  capital  of  that  state,  in  the  latter  end  of  1814  and 
beginning  of  1815,  during  negotiations  for  peace,  at  Ghent, 
in  Flanders.  At  present,  our  narrative  takes  us  far  from  the 
banks  of  the  great  north'^rn  lakes  to  those  magnificent  south- 
western regions  of  the  United  Slates,  where  the  modern  master 
of  staples,  cotton,  flourishes,  with  sugar,  also,  once  a  luxury, 
now  become  a  necessary  of  life.      Going  from  Michigan  and 


CHAP.  X.] 


SEIZURE    OF    MOBILE. 


317 


Vermont  to  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  in  the  great  change  of 
place,  fifteen  hundred  miles  from  north  to  south,  the  theatre  of 
action  to  be  examined  still  consists  of  what  were  then  territoiies 
sparsely  peopled ;  now  states  filling  with  population  ;  then  occu- 
pied by  Indians  with  their  towns  or  for  their  hunting-grounds ; 
now  filled  with  fine  cities  inhabited  by  many  of  the  most  opu- 
lent, refined  and  advancing  portion  of  this  great  republican 
empire  and  North  American  continental  power.  The  prodigious 
communication  and  intercourse,  by  steam,  from  New  Orleans  and 
Mobile  to  Michilimackinac  and  St.  Josephs,  Chicago  and  Detroit, 
thence  to  Cleveland,  Buffalo,  New  York,  and  Boston,  whether 
by  land  or  water,  are  evidence  of  its  union,  progression,  power, 
and  prosperity,  which  Americans  have  but  to  know  to  rejoice  in 
the  enjoyment  of. 

The  final,  most  concentrated,  reiterated,  desperate,  and  unge- 
nerous blows  of  Great  Britain,  were  struck  at  these  bountiful 
regions,  with  great  fleets  and  armies,  savage  help  in  its  utmost 
ferocity,  and  her  utmost  efforts  to  aggravate  those  blows  by 
servile  war,  of  which  the  preliminary  conflict,  the  Indian  cam- 
paign of  1813,  will  be  the  subject  of  this  chapter.  American 
vengeance  was  provoked  to  humble  the  Creek  Indians  for  the 
horrible  massacres  with  which  they  were  instigated  by  English 
agency,  and  Spanish  subserviency,  to  begin  hostilities. 

On  the  27th  January,  1813,  apprized  of  these  menacing  perils, 
the  president,  in  a  confidential  message  to  the  Senate,  sent  Uiem  a 
report  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  complying  with  their  resolution  of 
the  7th  of  that  monthj  which  led  ultimately  to  an  act  of  Congress 
authorizing  him  to  take  possession  of  a  tract  of  country  lying  south 
of  the  Mississippi  Territory  and  west  of  the  Perdido.  When  the 
confidential  proceedings  on  this  act  were  made  public,  in  October, 
1813,  it  was  justly  said  that  the  horrible  and  indiscriminate  butch- 
ery of  men,  women,  and  children  at  Tensaw  (or  Fort  Mimms), 
with  instruments  of  death  derived  immediately  from  Pcnsacola, 
and  the  exposed  state  of  the  southern  frontiers,  afforded  abun- 
dant testimony  of  the  error  and  misfortune  attendant  on  the  Se- 
nate's decision  of  this  very  important  question.  The  opposition 
to  Madison  in  the  Senate,  by  uniting  the  opponents  of  the  war 
with  those  of  his  administration,  frequently  prevented  steps  he 
deemed  important.  Constitutionally  averse  as  he  was  to  all 
measures,  he  never  was  even  charged  or  suspected  of 

27* 


illegal 


it^-::} 


.;.»  > 


m 

l-.:>4;..,;. 


318 


SEIZURE    OF    MOBILE. 


[APRIL,  1813. 


attempting  them.  And  for  how  many  imperfections  of  energetic 
executive  action  does  not  this  pure  observance  of  hiw  atone  ? 
Having  at  last  got,  in  February,  1813,  the  permission  of  Congress, 
though  not  to  the  extent  he  desired,  to  dislodge  the  Spanish  autho- 
rities from  a  corner  of  Louisiana,  which  they  held  as  part  of  Flo- 
rida, in  April,  1813,  by  order  of  the  president,  the  present  city  of 
Mobile  was  taken  from  them :  then  a  Spanish  fortress  overlook- 
ing northern  Florida  on  the  bay  of  that  name,  at  the  mouth  of 
the  noble  river  Tombigbee,  flowing  from  settlements  of  the 
Chickasaw  Indians,  in  Mississippi,  nearly  the  whole  length  of 
Alabama,  due  south,  till  it  empties,  through  Mobile  Bay,  into 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  The  Bays  of  Pascagoula,  Mobile,  Perdido, 
Pensacola,  Santa  Rosa,  St.  Andrews,  St.  Joseph's,  and  Apalachi- 
cola  skirt  southern  Alabama,  along  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  east. 
Another  chain  of  bays  on  that  gulf,  Chandeleur^  Black  Bara- 
taria,  Timballier,  Atchafalaya,  Cote  Blanche,  Vermilion,  stretch 
south  as  far  as  the  Sabine  Lake  and  river,  in  that  aquatic  region ; 
thence  disputed  ground  beyond  to  the  Nueces,  the  Grande  del 
Norte,  and  those  prodigious  mountain  barriers  between  Texas 
and  Mexico,  which  fix  by  nature's  most  stupendous  impedi- 
ments, the  boundaries  between  the  North  American  Anglo- 
Saxon,  and  the  mixed  Mexican  and  Spanish-Moorish  races.  St. 
Marks,  on  Apalachicola  Bay,  Pensacola,  on  the  bay  of  that  name, 
both  opening  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  fortified  city  of  St. 
Augustine,  one  of  the  oldest  of  American  towns  on  the  Atlantic 
ocean,  and  Cond6,  at  Mobile,  were  Spanish  strongholds  in  Flo- 
rida, convenient  of  access  from  sea  to  the  English,  and  by  land 
to  the  various  Indian  tribes,  roving  over  immense  territories, 
with  their  settlements  and  hunting-grounds,  stretching  from  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  through  Alabama,  Missouri,  and  Illinois,  to 
Lakes  Michigan,  Huron,  and  Superior.  All  this  vast  country  is 
connected  by  gigantic  links,  of  land  and  water,  in  natural  con- 
figuration, juxtaposition,  and  easy  intercourse.  A  glance  on  the 
map  shows  it,  but,  without  attentively  examining  the  map,  it  is 
impossible  to  appreciate  its  integral  nationality.  The  permanent 
treaty  of  1795  between  Spain  and  the  United  States,  fixing  the 
southern  limits  of  this  country  in  Florida,  and  its  western  bound- 
ary in  the  bed  of  the  river  Mississippi,  provides  that  Spain  shall 
maintain  peace  among  the  Indians  adjacent  to  the  boundaries  of 
Florida,  and  restrain,  by  force,  all  hostilities  on  their  part,  so  as 


CHAP.  X.] 


SEIZURE    OF    MOBILE, 


319 


not  to  suffer  them  to  attack  citizens  of  the  United  States,  nor  the 
other  Indians  in  their  territory,  and  shall  make  no  treaties  but  of 
peace  with  the  Indians. 

The  president,  being  authorized  by  Congress,  directed  General 
Wilkinson,  commanding  nearest  to  Florida,  who  accordingly,  on 
the  15th  of  April,  1813,  with  Commodore  Shaw's  flotilla  of  gun 
boats,  and  600  soldiers,  took  possession  of  Mobile.  The  expedi- 
tion left  New  Orleans  the  29th  of  March,  General  Wilkinson  on 
board  the  armed  schooner  Alligator,  by  the  Bayou  St.  John,  and 
Pass  Christian,  arrived  at  Heron,  the  10th  of  April.  Captain  At- 
kinson was  sent  to  bring  ofl"  the  Spanish  guard  and  pilot  from 
Dauphin  Island,  who  were  removed,  the  corporal  and  six  men, 
to  Pensacola.  Meantime,  Colonel  Bowyer  descended  the  Tensaw, 
with  the  diligence  always  characterizing  that  gallant  officer,  and 
encamped  opposite  the  town  of  Mobile,  with  five  pieces  of  brass 
ordnance— Commodore  Shaw,  making  good  his  way  round  by 
sea  with  his  flotilla  of  transports.  The  music  of  our  drums  was 
the  first  intimation  the  Spanish  commandant  of  the  ancient  Fort 
of  Conde,  near  Mobile,  had  of  the  design  to  dislodge  him,  the 
American  troops  having  been  landed  and  formed  at  night.  That 
venerable  fort  had  been  once,  indeed,  was  then,  a  strong  place  ; 
built  in  tiie  reign  of  Louis  the  Fourteenth,  in  178u  it  resisted 
for  several  weeks  with  a  small  garrison,  an  army  2000  strong 
under  the  Spanish  General  Galvez,  before  it  honorably  capitu- 
lated. At  noon  on  the  15th  of  April,  General  Wilkinson  ad- 
vanced with  a  column  of  COO  men,  sook  post  in  a  neighbouring 
wood  in  front  of  the  fon,  ^nd  sent  his  aid-de-camp  Major  Pierre, 
to  ('  Hand  its  surrender,  to  which  the  Spanish  commandant 
yieldcJ,  when  the  American  flag  was  hoisted  there  for  the  fir?t 
time.  On  the  17th  of  April,  Colonel  Carson  dislodged  a  small 
Spanish  post,  consisting  of  a  serjeant  and  seven  men  from  the 
east  bank  of  the  Perdido,  who  moved  to  Pensacola.  Thus  the 
authority  of  the  United  States  was  established,  as  by  the  treaty 
of  Louisiana,  it  was  right  it  sh  luld  have  been  ten  years  before, 
to  the  Perdido  bay  and  river  in  Florida,  which  peninsula  did  not 
follow  Louisiana  into  the  American  Union,  till  nearly  ten  years 
afterwards,  when  taken  possession  of  pursuant  to  treaty  with 
Spain,  by  the  extraordinary  offspring  of  the  war  of  1812,  whose 
first  campaign  is  to  be  the  subject  of  this  chapter — Andrew  Jack- 
son. Don  Gayetano  Perez,  the  Spanish  g^  vernor,  and  the  garrison 


imw^:. 


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I'JK 


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.,! 

320 


INDTAN    AGGRESSIONS. 


[APRIL,  1S13. 


of  Mobile  surrendered  at  Fort  Coudc  to  General  Wilkinson,  were 
forthwiili  sent  in  transports  to  Pensacola,  whence  Spanish  con- 
nivance with  Englisl.  hostilities  against  the  United  States,  espe- 
cially by  arming  and  instigating  the  Indians,  was  suppressed 
twenty  months  afterwards  by  General  Jackson  capturing  that 
Spanisli  fortress,  preparatory  to  his  memorable  repulsion  of  En- 
glish invasion  of  Louisiana.  Shortly  after  Wilkinson's  seizure  of 
jNIobile,  he  marched  with  a  considerable  detachment  to  the  Perdido 
river,  to  overawe  the  Indians  encouraged  by  the  Spaniards,  to  acts 
of  hostility  against  Americans.  Fort  Conde,  or  Mobile,  wa^,  well 
supplied  with  munitions  of  war  and  military  stores,  and  presented 
a  frowning  battery  of  sixty-two  pieces  of  ordnance  when  surren- 
dered to  Wilkinson  by  too  small  a  garrison  to  have  made  effec- 
tual resistance.  An  express  arrived  there  just  at  the  evacuation, 
advising  Wilkinson  that  the  Spanish  governor  of  Pensacola  had 
sent  out  runners  to  the  Creek  and  ^^eminole  Indians,  with  oilers 
of  arms,  ammunition  and  presents  if  they  would  attack  the 
American  frontier  settlements  on  the  Tombigbee  and  Alabama. 
To  prepare  for  this,  Wilkir.son  deposited  a  number  of  muskets 
with  the  colonels  of  the  militia.  The  people,  much  alarmed  by  ru- 
mours of  Indian  aggressions,  were  erecting  numerous  block  liouses 
to  retire  to,  as  places  of  retreat  and  security.  Soon  afterwards 
General  Wilkinson  received  his  orders  dated  at  Washington,  in 
March,  to  repair  to,  and  take  conunand  of  the  northern  army  : 
the  south  by  the  good  genius  of  America  being  through  a  series 
of  providential  military  changes,  hereafter  to  be  particularized, 
reserved  for  the  command  of  General  Jackson.  Wilkinson  left 
with  regret  places  with  which  he  had  become  familiar  by  long 
command  and  much  experience  there,  to  try  his  fort'ine  as  a 
veteran,  where  it  began  as  a  young  man,  in  the  north,  as  Gene- 
ral Dearborn's  successor  in  command  of  the  army,  destined 
for  the  invasion  of  Canada.  The  south-western  Indian  cam- 
paign, to  which  Jackson  was  about  to  be  called,  was  the 
overture  to  his  not  more  complete  or  substantial,  but  better 
known  and  more  celebrated  campaign  of  next  year  against  the 
flower  of  the  English  armies  which  chased  Napoleon's  mar- 
shals and  brother  out  of  Spain,  followed  them  to  the  capital  of 
France,  and  thi^re  dictating  peace,  left  the  United  States  not 
only  single-handed,  but  deserted,  if  not  detested,  by  nearly  all 
Christendom,  o  make  head  against  Great  Britain.    Among  the 


CHAP.  X.] 


INDIAN    AGGRESSIONS. 


321 


good  fortunes  of  this  country,  not  the  least  was  that  which  under 
these  circumstances  inflamed  a  mighty  enemy,  intoxicated  with 
triumphs,  to  wage  unwarrantable  war,  that  Providence  enabled 
us  to  resist,  repel  and  overcome  by  a  year  of  victories  consum- 
mated by  the  great  success  which  the  commander  in  the  Creek 
campaign  was  there  learning  the  art  to  achieve. 

The  south-western  campaign  of  1813  was  carried  on  mainly 
by  volunteers  and  militia  of  Georgia,  Tennessee,  and  the  Terri- 
tory of  Mississippi,  against  only  Indian  foes;  instigated,  indeed, 
and  armed  and  supplied  by  English  government  and  Spanish  con- 
nivance, but  without  British  soldiers  till  next  year,  as  their  allies. 
The  remote  inhabitants  of  countries  almost  without  a  mariner, 
and  then  with  little  foreign  commerce  or  navigation,  were  inflamed 
to  bloody  combats  against  orders  in  council  concerning  maritime 
affairs  and  impressment  of  seamen.  As  parts  of  the  American 
republic,  the  people  of  those  south-western  states  and  territories, 
with  little  or  no  local  interest  in  the  issue,  fought  the  national  battle 
with  unwavering  constancy ;  while  as  instruments  of  a  small 
island  in  the  midst  of  the  North  Sea,  three  thousand  miles  away, 
the  deluded  savages  bravely  and  recklessly  performed  their  ruthless 
part  in  exterminating  hostilities.  Humanity  shrinks  not  less  at 
their  butcheries  and  brutalities  at  the  time,  than  at  their  conse- 
quence, in  the  expulsion  of  all  the  fierce  aboriginal  inhabitants 
of  those  beautiful  and  teeming  regions,  to  banishment  of  tribes 
inimical  to  each  other,  compelled  to  live  together  far  from  their 
native  homes,  in  others  provided  for  them  beyond  the  Arkansas 
and  Mississippi.  History  must  condemn  the  English  cruel  policy 
which  for  gain  and  dominion  sacrificed  thousands  of  noble  sav- 
ages in  that  shocking  conflict.  Nor  can  it  excuse  Spanish  instru- 
mentality in  those  ungenerous  hostilities.  The  red  and  black 
races  still  in  Mexico,  Cuba,  and  the  United  States,  are  subjects 
of  much  apparent  transatlantic  sympathy.  Hut  for  millions  of 
African  slaves  pullulating  in  the  cotton  growing  regions,  where 
their  labour  seems  indispensable,  cultivating  lands  which,  in 
1S13,  were  covered  with  Indian  cornfields  and  settlements, 
and  devoted  to  their  hunting-grounds,  England  and  Spain  are 
answerable,  who  first  naturalized  them  in  America.  The  red  race 
might  be  living  in  communion  with  the  black  and  the  whites  in 
Alabama,  Georgia  and  Mississippi,  but  for  European  interfer- 


I{l 


1  '■?  »t    t  Jr^^ 


322 


INDIAN    CIVILIZATION. 


[JULY,  1S13. 


ence.  The  American  Declaration  of  Independence,  more  recited 
than  its  doctrines  are  generally  remarked,  forty  years  before  the 
campaign  of  is 1 3,  excited  by  English  agents  and  acts  among 
tae  Creeks  and  Cherokees,  to  both  savage  and  servile  outrages, 
reproached  a  kindred  country  with  exciting  domestic  insurrection 
among  us,  and  bringing  on  the  inhabitants  of  our  frontiers  the 
merciless  Indian  savages,  whose  known  rule  of  warfare  is  un- 
distinguisliing  destruction  of  all  ages,  sexes  and  conditions.  It 
has  been,  on  the  contrary,  the  constant  endeavour  of  every 
administration,  the  obvious  policy  of  the  United  States  to  con- 
ciliate and  domesticate,  enlighten,  liarmonizo  and  naturalize  the 
Indians. 

To-cha-lee  and  Chulioa,  chiefs  of  the  Cherokees,  published  in 
behalf  of  the  Cherokee  nation,  an  address  prepared  in  council  at 
Highwassee,  the  0th  of  March,  18J  3,  to  the  citizensof  the  United 
States,  particularly  to  the  good  people  living  in  the  states  of  Ten- 
nessee, North  and  South  Carolina,  Georgia  and  Mississippi  Terri- 
tory, in  which  they  said,  that  in  former  wars  the  Indians  were  of 
necessity  under  the  influence  of  your  enemies.  We  shed  our 
blood  in  their  cause.  You  compelled  them  byartiis  to  leave  us; 
and  they  made  no  stipulation  for  our  security.  After  years  of 
distress,  we  found  ourselves  in  the  power  of  a  generuMS  nation. 
You  forgot  the  past,  established  our  boundaries,  provided  for  our 
improvement,  and  took  us  under  your  protection.  We  have 
prospered  and  increased,  with  the  knowledge  and  practice  of 
agriculture  and  other  useful  arts.  Our  cattle  fill  the  forests,  while 
wild  animals  disappear.  Our  daughters  clothe  us  from  spinning 
wheels  and  looms.  Our  youth  have  acquired  knowledge  of  let- 
ters and  figures.  All  we  want  is  tranquillity.  This  simple  recitai 
of  Indian  improvement  proceeds  with  strong  expressions  of  good- 
will to  the  government  and  people  of  the  United  States,  and 
hopes  of  their  success  in  the  contest  with  Great  Britain. 

Such  was  the  argument  of  these  unhappy  savages,  and  if  con- 
tent to  be  incorporated  in  American  fc;ociety,  with  its  arts,  reli- 
gion and  enjoyments,  if  qualified,  but  civilized  independence, 
which  is  all  that  we  enjoy,  was  preferable  to  their  wilder  and 
more  vicious  state  ;  it  was  the  earnest  desire  of  American  govern- 
ment to  ameliorate  and  adopt  them.  Confessing  and  deploring  the 
colonial  abuses  which  provoked  Indian  aversion,  every  effort  since 
American  independence,  has  been  to  quiet  and  domesticate  these 


■'Jk^ii 


CHAP.  X.] 


INDIAN    NATIONS, 


323 


magnanimous  children  of  the  forest.  England  in  botli  her  wars  on 
the  United  Stales,  betrayed  her  savage  allies  to  ruin,  liy  reviv- 
ing and  fomenting  animosity  much  assuaged,  and  which  might 
have  been  removed,  she  provoked  reaction  from  this  country  by 
which  more  than  fifty  nations  have  been  subjugated,  driven 
from  their  desert  homes,  and  forced  to  abide  together  in  odious 
circumscription.  An  English  ministry  was  once  reproached  by 
censorious  opposition,  for  not  resenting  French  interruption  of 
British  slave  trade,  which  the  maritime  world  is  now  disturbed 
by  England  to  suppress.  Yet  what  African  slave  now  cultivates 
tropical  products,  in  Spanish,  Portuguese,  or  American  posses- 
sions, but  by  act  of  Parliament  ?  Wliat  untutored  savage  has 
been  expatriated  from  this  country  but  by  reaction  of  English 
intermeddling  ? 

The  Creek  nation,  twenty-five  thousand  strong,  inhabited  a 
region  of  surpassing  fertility,  salubrity  and  beauty,  from  the 
southern  borders  of  Tennessee,  between  the  Chatahouchee  and 
Coosa  rivers,  as  far  south  as  near  the  Florida  line  :  the  Seminoles 
south  of  the  Creeks,  in  southern  Georgia,  and  northern  Florida, 
ranging  through  impervious  swamps  to  boundless  marshes  on  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico;  tb.e  Choctaws  and  Chickasaws  on  the  Yazoo 
and  Pearl  rivers  in  Mississippi,  numbering  from  thirty  to  forty 
thousand ;  the  Cherokees  north  of  the  Creeks,  on  the  south  fron- 
tier of  Tennessee.  Indian  civilization  was  marked  by  proximity 
to  American  power,  savage  barbarism  by  distance  from  it.  Near- 
ly all  the  Nortii  American  Indians  speak  kindred  tongues,  and  are 
otherwise,  though  frequently  at  war  among  themselves,  yet  re- 
ducible by  overruling  domination  to  the  same  people,  one  and 
indivisible  for  war  against  the  United  States.  They  were  one  and 
all  cultivated  as  English  stipendiaries,  and  in  1813,  supplied  by  or 
through  Spanish  authorities  in  Florida,  Spain  being  then  in  alli- 
ance oflensive  and  defensive  with  Great  Britain,  occupied  by 
British  armies,  and  governed  by  British  councils,  if  not  generals 
and  ministers.  At  the  same  time  there  was  no  recognized  min- 
ister of  Spain  in  the  United  States,  nor  of  the  United  States  in 
Spain,  owing  to  the  distracted  state  of  that  ancient  kingdom,  then 
disputed  between  Ferdinand  the  Seventh,  and  Joseph  Bonaparte. 
That  controversy,  according  to  a  principle  of  American  govern- 
ment, the  disadvantage  of  which  at  that  moment  has  been  ad- 
verted to  in  ray  first  chapter,  deprived  the  United  States  of  any 


i?. 


^^- 


..it  i" ' . 

I.*-; 


lie -'-J' 


^:.;': 


i: 


l-:t 


i^^ 


324 


TECUMSUH'S    MISSION.  [JULY,  1813. 


public  agent  in  Spain,  wlien  several  ministers  there  would  have 
been  useful,  if  they  were  not  indispensable.  According  to  the 
best  information  v/o  had,  however,  and  universal  southern  im- 
pression, the  war  in  the  south  was  ascribable  to  instigation  by 
the  united  influence  of  Great  IJritain  and  Spain,  operating  upon 
the  Indians.  But  for  that  clandestine  combination,  the  war  might 
have  been  confined  to  the  northern  and  navigating  states,  (or 
whose  relief  it  was  undertaken.  As  soon  as  Great  liritain  was 
menaced  with  it,  the  southern  Indians  began  to  move.  When 
declared,  tlie  storm  !>ioke  forth  at  a  point  contiguous  to  her  insti- 
gating power,  As  defeat  or  victory  in  Canada  Huctuated,  south- 
ern hostilities  assumed  the  hues  of  British  vengeance  and  Indian 
ferocity.  Supplies  of  all  arms  and  munitions  were  discovered 
on  t'lcir  way  from  Pensacola  to  the  Indians.  Councils  of  war 
wr,re  held,  attended  by  British  and  Spanish  agents  ofticiating  toge- 
ther. Immense  expenditures,  tragical  disasters,  on  new  theatres 
of  war  ensued.  Colonel  Benjamin  Hawkins  had  been  for  six- 
teen years  Indian  agent  of  the  United  States  in  the  south-west, 
and  tlattered  himself  as  well  as  his  constituents,  that  he  had  not 
laboured  in  vain  to  wean  them  from  savagism.  The  Creeks  and 
Cherokees  had  many  of  them  farms,  wore  clothing,  professed 
Christianity,  spoke  English,  and  the  most  respectable  and  influ- 
ential of  ihem  were  well  inclined  to  civilization  till  British  agents 
interloped,  and  put  an  end  to  that  peaceable  and  prosperous  state 
of  things.  A  chief  instrument  of  England  for  this  purpose,  was 
Tecumseh,  whom  we  have  seen  bravely  fighting  at  Tippecanoe 
in  1811,  at  Detroit  in  1812,  and  as  bravely  dying  in  arms  in  1813, 
at  the  battle  of  the  Thames.  He  performed  a  patriotic  and  praise- 
worthy journey  from  the  north  to  the  south,  after  the  massacre 
at  Raisin,  deemed  by  him  and  his  employers  the  proper  time  to 
rouse  the  Indians  of  Alabama,  Georgia,  Florida  and  Mississippi, 
to  another  effort  at  emancipation.  In  him  it  was  patriotic  and 
praiseworthy  to  liberate  them,  if  possible,  from  the  yoke,  how- 
ever gentle,  which  American  government  imposed.  He  can 
hardly  be  blamed  for  the  last  attempt  of  a  noble  chieftain,  who 
seldom,  if  ever,  practised  the  enormities  which  English  agents 
stimulated :  we  cannot  deny  Tecumseh  the  merits  of  a  generous 
effort  and  a  glorious  death.  Addressing  himself  to  the  Creeks 
especially,  he  plied  them  not  only  with  all  the  arts  of  eloquent 
excitement,  but  with  the  irresistible  power  of  superstition  and 


p4 


CHAl'.  X.l 


FORT    MIMMS. 


325 


a 


sorcery  over  ignorant  people,  barb.-irians  most  of  all.  IIo  took 
witli  Iiim  a  fanatic  (ailed  iho  Prophet,  Tccumsch's  brotlier,  by 
whoso  incantations  and  those  of  many  other  such  impostors,  tho 
savages  wero  roused  to  madness,  for  a  war  which  was  to  rein- 
state tlicm  in  all  their  possessions  and  rights.  Tlicre  is  sonic- 
thing  to  all  men,  even  the  most  refined,  elevated  and  enervated, 
attractive  in  adventurons  hfe,  tho  chase,  the  woods,  the  risks 
of  exposure,  shooting,  hui'Mng,  the  dangers  and  latigucs  of  kill- 
ing wild  beasts,  tho  mimicry  of  war.  Much  more  seductive  i.s 
war  itself:  and  still  mucfi  more  to  those  wliosc  ancestors  knew 
no  other  recreation  so  delightful.  Necromancy  and  superstitiou 
to  charm  savages  to  such  enjoyments  were  artifices  which  Te- 
cumseh,  his  brother  the  prophet,  and  other  demons,  working  with 
mystic  and  oracular  inlluences  over  wild  enthusiasts,  wrought  to 
the  highest  pitch  of  savage  excitement.  They  enlisted  too  the 
noble  aspirations  of  patriotism.  The  war  was  for  the  long-lost 
rights  of  Indian  freemen :  to  restore  them  to  lib  rty,  emanci- 
pate them  from  bondage.  Like  the  Americans  of  1770,  the 
French  of  1700,  the  Spanish  colonists  of  South  America,  the  war 
party  of  the  Creek  nation,  in  revolt  against  their  elders,  assumed 
the  much-abused  name  of  patriots,  and  came  to  be  known  by  it 
in  the  bloody  controversy,  which  iu  a  few  months  closed  with 
the  extermination  of  most,  and  the  subjugation  of  all  the  rest 
of  them. 

The  map  must  be  consulted  for  Fort  Mimnis,  a  stockade  or 
blockhouse,  on  the  Alabama  river,  not  far  from  the  Tombigbee, 
in  south-western  Alabama,  at  no  great  distance  from  Mobile, 
where,  on  the  30th  August,  1813,  by  which  time  the  untiring 
Tecumseh  was  again  at  the  head  of  his  followers  in  Ohio, 
occurred  one  of  those  dreadful  Indian  tragedies  which  have  so 
often  retaliated  the  cruelties  inllicted  by  white  men  on  red,  by 
them  horribly  retorted.  The  massacre  at  Fort  Miinms,  in  August, 
like  that  of  the  river  Raisin  in  January,  1813,  will  long  be  remem- 
bered in  the  chronicles  of  American  wrongs ;  for  wrongs  they  arc, 
although  our  treatment  of  their  perpetrators  may  seem  to  justify, 
as  no  doubt  it  provokes,  such  enormities. 

Soon  after  we  were  assembled  in  Congress,  the  latter  end 
of  May,  1813,  Mr.  Elijius  Fromentin,  one  of  the  first  elected 
senators  from  Louisiana,  who  traveled  to  Washington  by  land, 
through  the  Indian  country,  as  there  was  then  no  better  way, 

VOL.  L — 28 


:v  < »; 


326 


CREEK  OUTHREAK. 


[MAY,  1813. 


i:i»:: 


the  English  bchig  all  powerful  by  sea,  awl  not  a  ':teamboat  ply- 
ing from  New  Orleans,  Mr.  Fromentin  reported  timt  in  the 
Creek  nation,  he  fell  in  with  a  party  of  warrio*  s  under  McQueen, 
king  of  the  Upper  Towns,  who  had  bejn  to  Pensacola  for  arms 
from  the  Spanish  Governor  of  West  Fiorida,  who  infornned  the 
deputation  that  his  instructions  were  to  r.rm  the  nation  generally, 
and,  provided  a  majority  applied  to  hirn,  he  would  furnish  them 
with  arms.  Meetings  of  the  Indians  were  therefore  to  be  held 
in  their  different  towns  to  ascertain  that  war  was  the  sense  of 
a  majority,  that  being  the  Spanish  postulate.  At  the  House  of 
Manac,  a  chief  of  property  and  influence,  numbers  of  runnci.s 
from  the  north-western  Indians  were  constantly  resorting,  from 
the  seat  of  war,  with  much  earlier  intelligence  of  ever  ts  than 
tlie  white  neighbours  of  the  Indians  had. 

There  was  probably  not  a  majority  of  the  Creeks  for  war. 
Most  of  the  aged,  the  experienced,  and  the  prudent  were  against 
ir.  But,  as  was  the  case  in  this  country,  the  young,  the  ardent, 
tl  e  ambitious,  the  restless,  were  its  champions.  Perhaps  the 
American,  certainly  the  French,  revolutions  were  begun  against 
the  sense  of  majorities,  by  resistance  to  not  insufferable  wrongs. 
Tecumsehs  in  all  countries,  not  only  move,  but  master  majorities, 
and  often  through  minorities.  Urged  by  English  and  counte- 
nanced by  Spanish  authorities,  besides  their  own  sense  of  the 
comparatively  less  independent  condition  they  enjoyed,  than  be- 
fore the  Americans  put  some  restraints  on  their  wild  indolence, 
the  war  party,  the  patriots  of  the  Creeks,  precipitated  measures 
by  violence  and  civil  war  between  themselves  and  the  peace  party. 
Agents,  white  and  red,  from  Canada,  to  excite  and  supply  them, 
went  to  Florida.  Through  the  instrumentality  of  Indian  runners 
and  chiefs,  the  belief  was  general,  if  not  universal,  in  that  country, 
that  the  Governor  of  Canada  made  known  his  wishes  to  tlie 
Governor  of  Florida :  and  at  all  events,  in  Colonel  Hawkins's 
opinion,  the  commotions  in  the  south-west  were  attributable  to 
English  intrigues  with  the  Indians  there.  The  alarm  was  gene- 
ral.  Milledgeville,  in  Georgia,  on  the  Altamaha,  Columbus,  on 
the  Tombigbee,  Nashville,  in  central  Tennessee,  on  the  Cumber- 
land, Knoxville,  in  east  Tennessee,  on  the  Holstein,  were  all 
alarmed  and  assailable.  Generals  Pinckney  and  Flournoy,  com- 
manding the  regular  troops  in  that  military  division,  were  put  on 
their  guard,  and  ordered  out  some  inadequate  forces.  In  April, 
however,  General  Flournoy  wrote  to  the  Governor  of  Georgia 


CHAP.  X.] 


FORT    MITCHELL. 


327 


from  the  Creek  agency  that  he  found  the  reports  respecting  their 
hostihty  unfounded  or  exaggerated ;  the  chiefs  are  in  council,  said 
he,  respecting  the  late  outrages,  and  it  is  expected  the  offenders 
will  be  brought  to  justice.  Colonel  Hawkins,  Indian  agent, 
thinks  tiicre  is  no  danger  in  passing  to  Fort  Stoddart.  This  con- 
lidencc  soon  proved  mistaken.  In  July  Colonel  Hawkins  in  vain 
strove  to  prevent  the  outbreak  long  premeditated.  The  diflicul- 
ties  of  the  friendly  Indians  continued  to  increase.  Nine  of  them 
wera  murdered, one  a  woman;  a  chief  was  missing, another  sent 
on  a  friendly  errand  was  doomed  by  the  prophet  to  destruction. 
The  old  King,  Talebee,  boasted  of  his  war-clubs,  bows,  arrows, 
and  magical  powers.  By  satisfying  the  United  States  the  well- 
disposed  angered  the  war-party,  who  were  resolved  on  re- 
sentment. The  work  of  death  and  destruction  began.  Colonel 
Hawkins  sent  messengers  to  soothe  them  and  to  warn.  "  I 
hear,"  said  he,  "  you  have  broken  the  treaty,  danced  the  war- 
dance,  made  your  clubs,  but  for  what  ?  You  threaten  Kialijee, 
Toohawbatchee,  and  Cowetan.  Take  care  how  you  make 
American  soldiers  your  enemies.  You  cannot  frighten  them. 
Their  cannon  and  muskets  will  be  more  terrible  than  the  words 
of  your  prophets."  The  war  party  returned  no  answer  to  this 
expostulation,  licnt  on  mischief,  nothing  but  calamity  would 
tame  them.  Colonel  Hawkins  dispatched  Mcintosh,  a  celebrated 
Indian  chief,  for  Toohawbatchee,  and  requested  the  Governor  of 
Georgia  for  arms  for  the  friendly  Indians ;  an  express  was  also 
sent  on  whose  report  the  agent  intended  to  act,  and  the  go- 
vernor, if  necessary,  was  to  risk  the  consequences  of  attempting 
to  crush  the  hostile  Indians. 

Tlie  regions  doomed  to  devastation  by  these  malignant  hos- 
tilities, were  of  surpassing  beauty,  salubrity,  and  productive- 
ness. What  was  called  the  Aulochewan  country  abounded  in 
the  finest  lands.  The  woods  were  filled  by  herds  of  fat  cattle 
plentifully  subsisting  on  rich  natural  pastures,  without  housing 
or  other  food  than  they  found  themselves.  No  care  need  be 
taken  of  them.  Fort  Mitchell,  the  agent's  residence,  was  not 
far  from  a  beautiful  lake,  abounding  with  fish,  and  communi- 
cating with  other  lakes  and  rivers  atibrding  excellent  navigation 
to  the  hearts  of  the  settlements.  The  orange  tree  grew  spon- 
taneously there  ;  melons  at  almost  any  season.  The  sugar- 
cane, the  cotton  plant,  Indian  corn,  the  richest  products  of  a 


:'f>' 


328 


FORT    MIMMS. 


[AUG.,  1813. 


genial  soil  and  climate  might  be  cultivated  in  luxurious  abun- 
dance. Fort  Mitchell  stood  on  one  of  those  singular  configu- 
rations of  parts  of  the  United  States,  a  prairie,  seven  or  eight 
miles  wide  by  twenty-three  miles  long,  like  the  placid  lake  in  its 
neighbourhood,  an  uninterrupted  expanse  of  productive  earth. 
The  Creeks  had  their  well-built  towns  and  villages,  schools,  flocks, 
tools,  clothing.  They  were  fast  weaning  from  barbarous  habits 
and  propensities,  when,  in  evil  hour,  they  were  by  evil  spirits 
persuaded  to  cast  aside  all  the  enjoyments,  tokens,  and  morals  of 
civilization ;  to  destroy  their  implements  of  husbandry,  desecrate 
their  places  of  worship  and  education,  despise  their  decent 
clothing ;  seize  the  tomahawk,  the  rifle,  and  the  scalping  knife, 
and  under  the  dark  influences  of  necromancers,  recur,  with  fana- 
tical frenzy  to  the  almost  forgotten  outrages  of  the  war-club, 
and  brutal  gratification  of  a  passion  for  destruction. 

After  many  isolated  devastations,  at  length,  on  the  30th  Au- 
gust, was  perpetrated  their  most  fearful  and  fatal  outrage  at 
Fort  INIimms.  Indians  were  supplied  at  Pensacola,  by  direct 
English  agency,  with  ammunition  distributed  there  to  leaders  in 
that  attack,  which  was  to  be  made,  as  rumoured,  about  the  full 
of  the  moon.  There  were  as  many  as  twenty  stockades  or  forts 
scattered  along  both  sides  of  the  river  Tombigbee,  for  the  seventy 
miles  of  thinly  peopled  country,  from  Fort  Stoddart  to  the  upper 
settlements ;  too  great  a  number  of  forts  for  concciitrated  action 
in  which  the  inhabitants  were  left  olf  their  guard  in  the  belief  that 
no  serious  aggression  would  take  place.  An  excellent  oflicer. 
Major  Beasley,  of  the  Mississippi  Volunteers,  commanded  at  Fort 
Minims,  which  was  nearly  opposite  to  Fort  Stoddart  The  greatest 
number  of  families  and  property  were  collected  in  Fort  Mimms; 
though  there  was  another  fort  at  Pierce's  Mills,  about  a  m'le 
from  it,  and  another  mill  at  which  a  few  soldiers  were  stationed 
a  few  miles  further.  A  negro,  taken  by  the  Indians,  but  escaping, 
fled  to  Fort  Mimms  and  gave  the  first  informaiion  of  the  intended 
attack.  Next  day  a  half-breed  and  some  white  ni°n,  who  had 
discovered  the  Indian  trail,  repeated  the  alarm.  But  none  of  these 
warnings  were  much  heeded  ;  though  some  preparation  was 
made  to  guard  against  a  surprise.  Another  negro  sent  out  to 
tend  the  cattle,  again  reported  that  he  had  seen  wenty  Indians. 
He  was  chastised  for  misreport.  A  third  who  saw  other  Indians 
afterwards,  fearing  the  same  unwelcome  reception,  went  to 


1813. 


CHAP.  X.] 


FORT    MIMMS. 


329 


Pierce's  Mills,  instead  of  returning  to  Fort  Mimms.  On  the 
night  preceding  the  massacre,  the  dogs  of  the  garrison,  supposed 
to  have  smelt  the  Indians,  by  peculiar  growling,  gave  their 
instinctive  notice  of  danger.  Had  the  men  been  as  watchful 
and,  may  it  not  be  said,  wise  ?  as  these  animals,  with  instinct 
exceeding  knowledge,  they  might  have  been  prepared  for  the 
attack.  A  few  did  leave  the  fort  and  escaped.  But  nearly  all 
remained  in  that  strange  confidence  which  often  betrays  to  de- 
struction. So  far  did  this  error  go,  that  an  officer  was  in  the  act 
of  preparing  to  punish  another  negro  for  insisting  that  he  had 
seen  Indians,  when,  all  at  once,  they  appeared,  contrary  to  their 
custom,  approaching  openly  by  day,  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  and  had  advanced,  through  an  open  field,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards,  to  within  thirty  feet  of  the  fort  before  tliey  v/ere 
discovered.  So  fatal  was  tlie  incredulity  of  its  doomed  inmates. 
So  well-devised,  bold,  and  fortunate  the  plan  of  their  blood- 
thirsty assailants.  The  gate,  too,  was  open.  As  the  sentry  gave 
the  alarm,  the  warriors,  with  a  terrific  whoop,  darted  in  before 
it  could  be  closed,  rushed  up  to  the  port  holes,  and  by  fearless 
intrepidity,  but  not  till  after  a  desperate  struggle  in  which  sixty 
of  the  assailants  were  killed,  in  the  course  of  several  hours  of 
murderous  combat,  hand  to  hand,  took  and  burned  the  place. 
Our  people  surprised,  confounded,  and  crowded,  had  not  time  to 
organize  for  resistance ;  otherwise  Indian  valour  could  do  no- 
thing against  a  well-prepared  fortification.  The  commander, 
Major  Beaslcy,  was  one  of  the  first  victims,  shot  through  the  body. 
He  retired  into  the  kitchen,  calling  to  his  men  to  take  care  of 
their  ammunition  and  retreat  into  the  house.  The  fort,  originally 
sijuare,  had  been  enlarged  by  pickets  from  within,  which  outward 
enclosure  the  Indians  fired.  Several  hundred  of  them,  computed 
from  four  to  seven  hundred,  surprised,  overpowered,  surrounded 
our  people,  encumbered  by  women  and  children,  who,  seeing 
the  Indians  in  full  possession  of  the  outer  fort,  began  to  falter, 
despond,  and  try  to  escape.  The  savages  mounted  the  block- 
house near  the  pickets,  and  shot  down  on  the  people  within, 
firing  from  port-holes  at  their  enemies  in  the  field,  who  shooting 
arrows  set  on  fire  at  the  building  which  put  one  near  the  kitchen 
in  a  blaze,  soon  consumed  it,  and,  as  is  supposed,  the  wounded 
commander,  Beasley,  lying  thjre.     His  loss  early  in  the  action 

Our  people  fought  with  the  courage 


was  a  great  misfortune. 


28' 


^':5"»irv;r 


330 


FORT    MIMMS. 


[AUG.,  1813. 


1-'' 


*'*^ 


of  despair.  But  seeing  the  Indians  in  full  possession  of  the 
outer  court,  with  the  gates  open,  the  kitchen  burning,  and  other 
buildings  on  fire,  despondency  prevailed.  Yet  the  few  survivors, 
towards  the  end  of  the  conflict,  collected  the  guns  of  the  killed 
and  all  the  remaining  ammunition  and  threw  them  into  the  flames 
to  keep  them  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  savages.  The 
■women  and  children  took  refuge  in  the  upper  story  of  the  dwell- 
ing house,  and  there  perished  in  the  flames,  ihe  savages  dancing 
round  with  shouts  of  exultation.  They  wore  all  stark  naked, 
except  a  flap  or  small  clout.  After  women  were  slaughtered,  their 
bodies  were  subject  to  every  indecent  indignity  which  the  most 
infernal  refinement  of  cruelty  could  conceive ;  pregnant  women 
were  cut  open,  unborn  infants  tomahawked,  some  women  scalped 
several  times,  many  savages  contending  for  the  gratification  of 
mutilating  and  murdering  one  helpless  individual.  The  scene 
presented  to  the  party,  which,  after  the  Indians  were  gone,  went 
to  the  place  and  buried  the  dead,  exceeded  all  description  of 
horrible  excesses.  Hundreds  of  these  Indians  spoke  English 
and  were  believed  to  have  been  reclaimed  from  barbarism. 

About  an  hour  before  sunset,  the  work  of  extermination  ceased, 
and  the  Creeks,  as  usual,  had  their  festival  for  a  glorious  victory. 
Seven  commissioned  officers,  with  about  one  hundred  non-com- 
missioned officers  and  privates  fell,  all  of  the  first  regiment  of 
Mississippi  Volunteers ;  24  families  of  men,  women  and  children, 
altogether  about  160  souls,  a  few  of  them  half-breed  Indians,  and 
seven  friendly  Indians,  with  100  negroes,  were  in  Fort  Mimms, 
most  of  whom  perished  in  the  action,  or  in  the  flames.  Betwc  jn 
three  and  four  hundred  men,  women  and  children,  wh.a,  red, 
black  and  mulatto,  were  butchered ;  not  more  than  from  25  to 
30  of  the  whites  and  half-breeds  escaped,  and  many  of  them 
wounded. 

Such  was  the  work  of  a  nation  of  Indians,  whom  the  adminis- 
trations of  Washington,  John  Adams,  Jefferson  and  Madison, 
had  been  frora  the  foundation  of  our  government  for  sixteen 
years  sedulously  engaged  in  civilizing.  Colonel  Hawkins  continu- 
ally reported  that  they  were  much  improved  in  the  arts  and  sen- 
timents of  humanity.  Without  the  slightest  provocation,  they 
took  up  arms  with  the  English  to  assail  us  ;  seized  moments  of 
unguarded  liability  to  perpetrate  diabolical  outrages  of  English 
contrivance.  English  vessels  with  ammunition  frequently  at  that 
time  arrived  at  Pensacola,  where  the  Creeks  and  Seminoles  were 


r 

4i 


CHAP.  X.l 


FLIGHT    TO    MOBILE. 


331 


supplied.  A  British  armed  schooner  from  the  Bahamas,  with 
clothing,  blankets  and  ammunition  for  the  hostile  Indians,  came 
to  Pensacola  soon  after  the  massacre  at  Fort  Mimms,  when  the 
Creek  war  began.  But  for  the  senate't;  resistance,  Madison 
might  have  prevented  this,  and  perhaps  the  disaster  at  that  fort. 
Next  year,  without  orders,  Jackson,  before  he  repaired  to  the 
defence  of  New  Orleans,  seized  Pensacola  by  virtue  of  that  self- 
preservation  which  belongs  to  all  mankind,  nations  and  indi- 
viduals, without  reference  to  the  law  of  treaties  which  forbade 
Spain  her  subserviency  to  England  in  those  inhuman  violations 
of  all  law. 

The  mournful  tale  of  the  disaster  at  Fort  Mimms  reached  the 
cantonment  near  Fort  Stoddart,  sixteen  miles  off  next  night  at 
ten  o'clock,  and  found  that  ill-piovided  place  encumbered  with 
women  and  children,  who  had  fled  aff'righted  from  their  habita- 
tions. It  had  before  been  suggested  that  they  should  be  removed 
to  some  securer  retirement.  The  moment  the  sad  tidings  were 
known,  all  took  to  flight  at  midnight,  in  such  trepidation  and 
confusion,  that  few  carried  food  or  clothing  enough  for  their 
escape  to  Mobile.  Some  went  by  water,  others  by  land,  all  be- 
wailing the  calamity  at  Fort  Mimms,  where  nearly  all  had  rela- 
tives and  friends,  of  whose  fate  the  most  dismal  apprehensions 
justly  prevailed.  The  river  from  Stoddart  to  Mobile  was 
strewed  with  boats,  the  intermediate  wilds  with  fugitives  by  land, 
hastening  for  succour  to  an  asylum,  which  might  not  be  able  to 
protect,  and  certainly  had  not  subsistence  enough  for  them.  It 
was  feared  that  the  Indians  would  soon  attack  Mobile :  the  only 
hope  was  that  plunder  and  their  usual  debaucheries  after  victory 
might  aflord  a  short  respite.  Without  prompt  and  unlooked-for 
assistance  from  Georgia,  Tennessee  and  Mississippi,  the  whole 
country  from  the  Choctaws  to  the  sea  must  be  a  dosolate  waste, 
abandoned  to  the  savages,  and  not  a  white  man  venture  to  raise 
his  head  beyond  the  limits  of  a  military  garrison.  Help  from 
the  government  at  Washington  was  out  of  the  question.  Relief 
must  come  from  the  people  themselves  and  neighbouring  states, 
in  such  an  emergency,  or  not  at  all.  But  for  the  seizure  of  Mobile, 
by  Wilkinson,  in  the  spring,  there  would  have  been  no  place  of 
refuge  for  our  people. 

Tecumseh's  first  blows  in  the  south,  more  than  a  thousand 
miles  from  the  place  of  bis  north-western  warfare,  were  terribly 
successful.    Prevost^  Brock,  the  Indian  favourite,  and  Proctor, 


If-  !-|-- . 


^4 


1  ^ 
1 

1j> 


•*»;? 


332 


TECU.MSEII. 


[AUG.,  1S13. 


did  not  confino  their  Indian  subornation  to  Canada.  It  reached 
Pensacola,  Bermuda  and  Jamaica,  whence  arms  und  ammuni- 
tion, clothing,  stores  and  other  necessaries  were  exported  and  im- 
ported, for  the  Seminoles,  and  the  Creeks  as  well  as  their  northern 
savage  allies.  The  long  arm  of  Great  Britain  extended  from  the 
Raisin  to  the  Tombigbee.  The  cruelties  at  the  latter  in  August, 
were  part  of  the  system  and  scale  of  hostilities,  which,  in  January, 
sacrificed  hundreds  of  brave  Kentuckians  at  the  former.  It  was 
after  the  massacre  at  the  River  Raisin,  that  Tecumseh  made  his 
pilgrimage  of  superstitious  enthusiasm  to  arrange  another  mas- 
sacre at  Fort  Mimms :  and  thus  far  his  constant  assurance  to  the 
savages  everywhere,  that  they  could  if  they  would  conquer  the 
Americans,  had  been  wonderfully  successful.  Why  not  vanquish 
them  and  free  ourselves,  said  Tecumseh,  from  their  yoke,  their 
spinning  wheels,  ploughs,  schools  and  clothing,  emblems  of  our 
subjugation  and  disgrace,  fetters  on  our  limbs  and  our  freedom  ? 
Why  doubt  our  ability  to  vanquish  them  ?  We  have  done  it  in 
the  north  ;  at  Detroit,  and  at  the  river  Raisin  we  conquered  them 
with  ease  and  with  glorious  slaughter.  Driven  out  of  Michigan, 
their  only  remnant  of  a  defeated  army  is  hiding  in  Fort  Meigs, 
besieged  by  our  English  allies,  who  assure  us  of  its  fall.  My 
followers  are  at  hand,  whenever  the  great  guns  reduce  that  last 
retreat  of  the  long  knives  to  surrender,  as  they  did  at  Raisin,  my 
followers  are  at  hand  to  repeat  our  enjoyments  and  vengeance  at 
Fort  Meigs.  Our  great  father  over  the  great  water  will  never 
enslave  or  disturb  us.  Our  villages  will  be  undisturbed,  our  hunt- 
ing-grounds unlimited  by  him  and  his  people.  They  supply  us 
with  arms,  with  drinks,  with  blank  its,  with  tobacco,  and  ask  no- 
thing hi  return.  They  do  not  try  to  convert  us  to  their  customs, 
or  drive  us  from  our  homes.  It  s  the  Americans  we  have  to 
contend  with,  not  the  English,  hut  a  rapacious  people,  our 
eternal  foes,  with  whom  the  English  are  again  at  war,  and 
whom  with  our  help  they  can  and  vill  drive  from  all  the  lands 
usurped  from  us  by  their  never-ending  encroachments.  When 
England  resolved  on  a  war  of  unwarrantable  severity,  and  sent 
Tecumseh  on  this  mission,  the  south-west  was  the  place  deemed 
most  vulnerable.  That  was  always  Jackson's  sagacious  opinion, 
realized  next  year  by  the  grand  invasion  of  Louisiana.  While 
we  were  waging  border  war  by  little  incursions  on  frontier  forts 
and  detatched  places  in  Canada,  Great  Britain  resolved  on  con- 
tinental and  terrific  operations.    Indians  and  slaves  were  her 


CHAP.  X.] 


brit:sh  plans. 


333 


fulcrum,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mcixico  to  Lake  Champlain,  on  which 
the  lever  of  transatlantic  fo'ce  was  to  work,  to  dispossess  the 
United  States  of  their  southern  and  western  territories  from  Flo- 
rida, including  all  Louisiana,  to  the  shores  of  Ontario.  From  that 
human  fulcrum,  Great  Britain  wielden  inhuman  war,  so  pro- 
claimed by  herself,  against  a  kindred  people,  large  numbers  of 
whom  nevertheless  revered  her  as  the  bulwark  of  piety  and  civili- 
zation. Such  was  the  enormous  magnitude,  enormous  in  the 
means  and  in  the  end,  the  great  scale  of  operations,  by  which  Eng- 
land was  to  throw  back  the  United  States  to  the  period  of  Wash- 
ington's administration,  when  she  withheld  the  frontier  posts,  in 
violation  of  the  peace  of  17S3.  In  1803  Uie  United  States  pur- 
chased Louisiana  by  Avhat  the  conquerors  of  France  might  pro- 
nounce a  fraudulent  title  to  Spanish  property.  The  Indians  and 
the  slaves  were  to  be  instruments  for  restoring  all  those  vast 
dominions  to  form'^r  owners,  at  any  rate  to  dislodge  the  United 
States.  Who  can  read  the  modern  history  of  Poland,  Italy,  Flan- 
ders, the  East  and  West  Indies,  and  doubt  the  design  of  Great 
Britain  to  hem  this  country  within  the  Ohio,  west,  bounded  by 
hordes  of  savages  under  English  protectorate,  and  by  the  sea, 
east,  commanded  by  British  fleets  ?  It  was  the  belligerent  right 
of  Great  Britain  to  do  so,  as  it  is  the  duty  of  American  history  to 
expose  the  daring  and  dreadful  policy  by  which  that  right  was 
to  be  realized.  The  war  of  1812  provoked  and  defeated  that 
great  attempt.  Thirty  years  of  peace,  the  gain  of  that  war,  have 
enlarged,  enriched  and  strengthened  th^  American  Union  with 
mrny  states,  carved  out  of  the  regions  then  contended  for,  with 
many  millions  of  masters  and  slaves  to  cultivate  the  exuberant 
soil,  till  now  a  war  of  staples  and  slavery  is  threatened  by  the 
Texas  question,  instead  of  the  war  of  savages  and  slaves  which 
then  laid  waste  those  regions. 

The  rnassacic  of  Fort  Mimms  at  once  precipitated  these  de- 
signs to  a  crisis.  The  people  and  the  governments  of  the  con- 
tiguous states,  Georgia  and  Tennessee,  and  of  those  convenient, 
South  and  North  Carolina,  instantly  acted  with  excellent  decision, 
before  it  was  possible  to  furnish  the  means,  hardly  to  give  orders 
from  the  seat  of  federal  government.  In  war,  the  well-being  of 
popular  government  requires  that  each  sovereignty  act  in  its 
own  sphere,  and  perform  the  constitutional  duty  prescribed  to  it. 
Irregularities  of  action  betray  infirmities  which  are  not  inherent 
in  the  system.    The  communities  and  governments  of  the  states 


%' 


J:'.!  .1  '  •••*  ■•■  . 

i.:;v  ,5;'/-'  •  ■■     '• 


(■;■ 


'.fiy.'.y,. sir.  ■ 

I,  'i  V.'  >iii  i*'];  -  '}■'  .■       '"» 


.•'? 

(;>-' 


K'::m 


V,,    . 


.-  1- 


,^s.. 


♦.»?■,  . 
li.'l 


vJ 


i.K^t.i'',i:  ''■If'';-: 


¥ 


334 


TENNESSEE    VOLUNTEERS. 


[SEPT.,  1S13. 


of  Georgia  and  Tcnnesseo  faced  '.he  emergency  wilh  alacrity  and 
energy,  similar  to  what  was  displayed  in  Ohio,  Kcntncky  and 
Pennsylvania.  If  Massachusetts  had  done  so,  British  power 
would  have  disappeared  from  this  continent.  At  the  same 
time,  however,  without  disaflection,  popular  or  military  refusal 
to  march  anywhere,  the  difiiculties  and  delays  of  hasty  levies  for 
short  terms,  with  still  greater  insubordination  timn  at  the  north, 
disturbed  the  southern  operations.  Yet  such  is  the  power  of  popu- 
lar good  will  that  the  greatest  commander  of  that  war.  General 
Jackson,  sprang  from  a  spontaneous  meeting  of  the  people  at 
Nashville, on  the  17tli  of  September,  ISLj;  immediately  seconded 
by  act  of  the  legislature  of  Tennessee,  on  the  27th  of  that  month, 
one  week  after  the  popular  impulse,  appropriating  i5200,000  and 
3,500  militia  or  volunteers,  placed  at  Jackson's  disposal  to  carry 
war  wherever  he  might  deem  proper  to  inflict  condign  punish- 
ment on  the  enemy  who  perpetrated  the  massacre  at  Mimms, 
ravaged  and  threatened  their  borders.  The  federal  government 
soon  adopted  the  men  and  reimbursed  the  money.  Riddance  of 
the  country  from  savages  theretofore  the  terror,  if  not  the  masters 
of  it,  was  mainly  effected  by  local,  popular  and  state  actiou,  con- 
summated by  operations  of  the  federal  government.  The  part 
each  one  performed,  the  appropriate  function  of  each,  are  lessons 
of  that  conflict  which  cannot  be  too  durably  impressed  on  the 
American  mind.  While  it  is  one  of  the  most  unquestionable  and 
gratifying  demonstrations  of  the  war  of  1S12,  that  the  states  saved 
the  United  States  in  several  emergencies,  it  is  equally  true  that 
excef  ive  state  or  popular  action  embarrassed  and  endangered 
the  Union  ;  and  that  it  is  by  the  harmonious  adjustment  of  all  the 
elements,  popular,  state  and  federal,  that  national  safety,  dignity 
and  vindication  are  accomplished.  If  obliged  to  wait  the  orders, 
forces  and  contributions  of  the  federal  government,  the  Creek 
war  would  never  Lave  been  crushed  as  it  was  in  one  victorious 
campaign.  Yet  that  campaign  proved,  even  without  state  or 
popular  disaffection,  ^hat  something  more  than  six  months  militia 
and  volunteers  is  indispensable  to  general  safety  and  welfare.  In 
the  fiscal  operations  of  American  confederated  government,  its 
direct  and  unobstructed  action  produced  revenues  which  paid 
mot  only  the  expenses  of  the  war,  and  all  its  debts,  but  prior 
obligations.  In  military  operations,  the  American  force,  although 
divided  between  federal  and  state  sovereignty,  is  adequate  to 
every  exigency,  when  well  administered  by  the  federal,  and  not 


1813. 


CII.iP.  X.]        TALLUSIIATCIIEE    AND    TALLADKGA. 


335 


iigerod 
all  the 
:nity 
orders, 
Creole 
torious 
tatc  or 
militia 
■arc.  In 
cut,  its 
1  paid 
t  prior 
though 
late  to 
nd  not 


uijconstitutionally  resisted  by  state  authority.  The  war  of  1S12 
exhibited  to  advantage  that  balanced  and  complicated  macliinery 
of  popular  government,  which,  least  understood  and  most  dispa- 
raged in  Europe,  is  apt  to  be  contemned  where  it  is  incompre- 
hensible. The  defects  and  hinderanccs  which  appeared,  both  cast 
an-  soutli,  in  the  war  faculties  of  American  government,  were 
not  in  the  machinery,  but  the  workmen,  whose  deficiencies  wert 
often  glaring,  whether  governors  or  soldiers. 

On  the  3d  of  November,  General  Cofl'ee,  detached  by  General 
Jackson  to  the  Tallushatchec  towns,  with  his  brigade  of  900 
men,  cros.ed  Goosey  river  at  the  fish-dam  ford  not  far  from 
Tenisiands — the  mounted  riflemen  under  Colonel  Cannon,  the 
cavalry  commanded  by  Colonel  Allcorn,  the  action  commenced 
by  Captain  Hammond  and  Lieutenant  Patterson's  companitjs — 
attacked  the  savages  near  their  town,  soon  after  sunrise,  routed 
and  cither  killed  or  captured  200  of  them,  who  fought  with 
savage  fury,  and  met  death  without  shrinking  or  complaining, 
no  one  asking  to  be  spared,  but  fighting  around  and  in  their  dwell- 
ings, to  which  they  were  driven,  as  long  as  they  could  stand  or 
sit.  In  consequence  of  flying  to  their  houses  and  mixing  with 
their  families,  some  of  their  squaws  and  children  were  uninten- 
tionally killed  or  wounded,  to  the  great  regret,  said  General 
Cofl'ee,  of  every  officer  and  soldier  of  the  detachment.  Not  a 
single  warrior  escaped  to  tell  the  news  :  eighty-four  women  and 
children  were  captured.  The  American  loss  was  five  killed  and 
forty-one  wounded,  a  number  with  arrows,  which  the  Indians 
shot  in  the  intervals  between  tiring  and  reloading  their  guns. 
On  this  first  blow,  General  Jackson  wrote  to  Governor  Blount : 
We  have  retaliated  for  the  destruction  of  Fort  Mimms.  On  the 
7th  of  November,  1S13,  he  followed  up  this  by  another  severe 
blow.  Learning  that  Lashly's  fort  (Talladega)  about  thirty 
miles  below  his  encampment,  was  threatened  by  the  Creeks 
encamped  near  it,  the  general,  leaving  his  baggage-wagons  and 
all  other  impediments  behind,  crossed  the  Coosa  at  Ten  Islands, 
and  resting  for  the  night  within  six  miles  of  the  enemy,  without 
waiting  for  General  White,  whom  he  had  dispatched  an  express 
for,  at  sunrise  next  morning  attacked  the  Indians  within  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  of  the  fort.  After  a  sharp  conflict  they  were  totally 
routed,  two  hundred  and  ninety  slain,  and  Jaclison  thought  that 
his  success  would  have  equaled  Coflee's  by  killing  every  one  of 
them,  but  for  a  momentary /awaj/ya*  of  his  militia,  quickly  made 


i'. 


■a-f,^\ 


f''     ''     r'^^. 


¥ 


mm  ji' la  fry, 


m 


Mr 


^1  ^.^- 


i  *,  ■  ■> 


^«>^■■^■^-'•!■i^ 


■>%•<■>. 


336 


IIILLADEE    AND    ALiO'^SEE. 


[NOV,  1S13. 


good,  however,  by  a  reserve  of  cavalry  kept  in  hand  by  General 
Jackson,  and  soon  after  atoned  for  by  good  conduct  of  the  'r.ihtia 
themselves.  Nor  was  General  White  idle.  On  the  isth  No- 
vember, 1813,  with  300  of  his  mounted  Tein.essee  volunteers 
under  Colonel  Burch,  and  300  Cherokecs  under  Colonel  Mor- 
gan, he  surprised,  surrounded  and  captured  251  Creeks  at  the 
Hillabee  towns,  killing  sixty-five  with  the  bayonet,  but  sparing 
all  who  held  up  a  white  flag  of  surrender,  without  losing  one  of 
our  men.  The  troops  under  General  White  visited  the  very 
heart  of  the  Creek  nation  where  the  red  sticks  for  war  were  first 
distributed.  On  the  29th  November,  1813,  General  Floyd,  with 
950  Georgia  militia,  and  between  three  and  four  hundred  friend- 
ly Indians,  attacked  the  Creeks  at  Autossee  on  the  Tallapoosa, 
their  largest  and  best  town,  the  Creek  mot*  tpolis,  containing 
four  hundred  regularly  built  houses,  constructed  on  consecrated 
ground,  according  to  their  barbarous  rites,  for  which  they  fought 
with  great  but  unavailing  valour,  presenting  themselves  at  every 
point  with  fanatical  bravery.  The  friendly  Indians,  theCowetans 
under  Mcintosh,  and  Toohabatchians,  under  Mad  Dog's  son, 
also  fought  at  that  battle  with  dauntless  intrepidity.  Warriors 
from  eight  to  ten  towns,  like  the  Greeks  in  nations  before  Troy, 
headed  by  kings  and  princes,  contended  for  Autossee ;  where 
one  king  and  another  king's  brother  were  among  the  slain,  and 
four  hundred  houses,  filled  with  valuable  contents,  reduced  to 
ashes.  The  Indians,  in  order  to  rescue  their  dead  from  falling 
into  the  hand.^  ci  the  A  mericans,  threw  them  piled  in  heaps  along 
the  bank  of  the  river,  thence  to  be  carried  away  or  otherwise 
saved,  if  possible  :  more  faithful  to  decent  solemnities  than  the 
English,  who  repeatedly  left  their  dead  unburied  to  the  care  of 
their  enemies.  The  American  loss  in  that  affair  was  eleven 
killed  and  fifty -four  wounded. 

On  the  23d  of  December,  1813,  Brigadier-General  Claiborne 
attacked  Ecconochaca,  on  Holy-Ground,  a  town  of  200  houses, 
occupied  by  a  large  body  of  Creeks,  commanded  by  Weathers- 
ford,  a  half-lDreed  chief,  prominent  at  the  massacre  of  Fort  Mimms, 
who,  being  aware  of  our  approach,  chose  his  own  position,  but 
was  put  to  flight,  with  the  loss  of  thirty  men  killed,  and  the 
town  burned,  containing  very  large  quantities  of  stores  and  pro- 
visions. Next  day  General  Claiborne  burned  another  Indian 
town  of  sixty  houses,  the  residence  of  Weatherford,  Francis  and 
the  Choctaw  Sinquister's  son,  who  were  all  three  prophets ;  the 


CHAP.  X.] 


GOVERNOR    OF    PENSACOLA. 


837 


conflagration  of  their  consecrated  towns,  and  devastation  of  tlieir 
crops,  serving  to  disenchant  the  victims  of  these  impostors.  What 
was  much  more  important  hero,  liowever  was  the  capture  of 
written  evidence  of  Spanish  interference  in  the  war  at  tiiis 
charmed  town.  It  was  one  of  those  sequestered  nearly  inaccessible 
fastnesses  in  the  centre  of  swamps,  environed  by  ravines,  which  it 
was  extremely  dillicult  to  approach,  on  the  Alabama,  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Cahawba,  about  eighty-five  miles  above  Fort 
Stoddert.  Three  Shawnces  were  killed,  a  number  of  boats 
burned,  and  an  important  letter  from  Manrique,  the  Governor  of 
Pensacola,  to  the  Creeks,  dated  there  the  29th  of  September, 
1813,  taken  and  sent  by  General  Claiborne  to  Governor  Blount. 
The  Spanish  governor  writes  to  the  savages  that  he  had  heard 
with  great  satisfaction  by  their  letters  of  August,  of  the  advan- 
tages the  brave  warriors  had  gained  over  their  enemies;  and 
had  represented  to  the  captain-general  at  Havana  the  request 
they  made  of  him  for  arms  and  munitions,  which  I  hope,  wrote 
the  governor,  he  will  send  me.  As  soon  as  lie  does,  you  shall  be 
informed.  I  aui  thankful  for  the  provisions  and  warriors  you 
have  generously  olfcred  with  which  to  retake  Mobile,  which 
you  ask  me  if  we  have  given  up  to  the  Americans.  I  answer 
no :  but  at  present  I  cannot  profit  by  your  kind  ofier,  as  we 
are  not  at  war  with  them.  They  did  not  take  Mobile  by  force, 
but  purchased  it  from  the  wretch  in  command.  As  it  does  not 
belong  to  the  Americans,  their  possession  gives  them  no  title 
to  it.  Wherefore  your  proposal  to  burn  the  town  would  injure 
not  them,  but  the  Spanish  owners.  1  have  directed  prescr'  be 
given  to  the  bearers  of  your  letter,  and  remain  for  ever  you.  ^  .od 
father  and  friend.  With  Proctor's  baggage,  captured  on  the 
Thames,  were  found  numerous  letters  from  various  British 
officers,  written  in  the  north  at  the  same  time  that  this  Spanish 
treachery  was  in  progress  in  the  south,  all  this  detected  corre- 
spondence, north  and  south,  turning  chiefly  on  the  English  reli- 
ance on  Indian  help.  One  of  the  letters  from  Robert  McDouall  to 
Proctor  says,  "  our  Indians  prove  themselves  right  worthy  and 
right  useful  auxiliaries.  Macbeth  says,  *  'tis  the  eye  of  child- 
hood that  fears  a  painted  devil.'  But  it  is  so  far  lucky  that  our 
opponents  are  mere  infants  in  the  sublime  art  of  war.  As  you 
are,  perhaps,  encumbered  with  too  many  mouths,  you  might  pre- 
vail on  two  or  three  hundred  more  of  your  swarthy  warriors  to 
VOL.  I. — 29 


\mm. 


l'^: 


.''     1- 


^^.V 


if" 


1;  I  >■■'■''   ^ '    ■: 


'^y 


338 


ANDREW    JACKSON. 


[OCT.,  1913. 


join  US  licre.  They  would  be  invaluable  under  our  present  cir- 
cumstances." Another  such  letter  from  the  hall-breed  Elliot  to 
Proctor  says, "eight  Munceys  left  us  to  reconnoitre  at  tlic  Miami 
Rapids,  and  yesterday  returned  with  a  scalp."  What  may  be 
called  this  cross  fire  between  the  English  Canadian,  and  Span- 
ish Floridian  authorities,  was  imintermitted.  On  the  Sfith  of 
November,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Bowycr  wrote  from  Mobile  to 
General  Claiborne,  "  I  have  this  moment  received  a  letter  from 
Captain  Alexis,  commanding  at  Mobile  Point,  stating  that  a  large 
British  expedition  has  arrived  at  Pensacola,  consisting  of  seven 
sail  of  vessels  and  two  bomb  vessels ;  some  of  the  brigs  have  800 
men  on  board.  The  communication  to  Pensacola  by  land  is  cut 
ot''  by  a  large  body  of  Indians." 

This  scarcely  concealed  concert  of  action  between  the  Spanish 
colonial  and  English  authorities  was  continued  throughout  all  the 
years  1813  and  1814,  until  broken  up  by  General  Jackson,  as 
part  of  his  plan  for  preserving  New  Orleans.  Not  only  did  the 
United  States  stand  alone  in  the  contest  with  Great  Ikitian,  with- 
out aid  or  even  the  good  will  of  any  other  nation ;  but  Spain  was 
in  ofl'ensive  alliance  with  England  against  us,  at  least  as  far  as 
lending  her  ports  and  governors,  with  supplies  of  arms,  to  minister 
to  the  most  flagrant  annoyance  England  inflicted. 

Disabled  by  a  broken  arm,  from  a  wound  received  in  one  of 
those  murderous  quarrels  of  common  occurrence  on  motley  peo- 
pled frontiers,  where  men,  women  and  children  lived  under  arms, 
whose  constant  use  occasioned  their  frequent  abuse,  Jackson, 
panting  for  martial  adventure,  having  long  been  the  commanding- 
general  of  the  Tennessee  militia,  when  nearly  fifty  years  old  started 
from  his  couch  to  overtake  renown.  From  a  sick  chamber, 
mounting  his  horse,  he  plunged,  at  the  head  of  undisciplined 
bands,  into  untrodden  deserts  and  swamps,  known  only  to  the 
wild  landlords  of  those  haunts  ;  whence  they  issued  to  terrify  tlie 
borders  of  several  states,  holding  their  towns  and  seats  of  govern- 
ment in  perpetual  alarm  of  Indian  marauding  forays.  Marching 
his  troops  over  mountains  and  great  rivers,  penetrating  deep 
morasses  and  savage  sequestrations,  Jackson  outstripped  in  speed 
the  marvelously  swift,  and  in  stratagem  the  wiliest  of  barbarians. 
He  chased  from  their  hiding  places,  crushed  in  their  consecrated 
towns,  vanquished,  humbled,  and  annihilated  the  fighting  men  of 
tiie  fiercest  clan  of  more  than  fifty  Indian  tribes,  and  reduced  the 


CIFAP.  X.] 


MILITIA. 


339 


remnant  to  abject  submission,  breaking  the  Indian  power  on  this 
continent  forever.  Three  prophets  were  killed,  one  Monohoo, 
by  a  bullet  .u  the  moutli,  as  if  to  falsify  his  vaticination,  and 
punish  an  impostor,  who  promised  invulnerability  to  all  his 
followers.  Warriors,  princes,  and  kings  fell  inider  grapcshot  and 
the  bayonet.  Many  largo  and  well-constructed,  consecrated 
towns,  the  abodes  of  kings  and  prophets,  flourishing  settlements, 
with  all  their  cornfields,  crops  and  abundance  of  provisions,  wero 
conflagrated.  The  torch  consumed  the  homes,  a  conqueror's 
hoof  trampled  upon  the  ashes  of  a  vanquished  people,  driven 
at  last  to  their  admirable  entrenchment  at  the  llorso-Shoc,  or 
Emuchfau,  where  in  desperate  encounter  their  fort  was  stormed 
and  they  were  extirpated,  some  in  cold  blood  the  day  after  tlie 
battle.  The  barbarous  but  sonorous  words  of  Taladega,  Autossee, 
Emuchfau,  Enotichopo,  Tokopeka,  more  euphonious  than  most 
English  names  of  places,  gave  titles  to  battles:  towns  called  Oak- 
fuskec,  Hillabce,  Eufallc,  Coweta,  Touchabatche,  Haithlawalee, 
on  noble  streams  designated  as  Tombigbee,  Coosa,  Cahawba,  Ala- 
bama, Apalachicola,  were  the  scenes  of  these  campaigns,  where 
now  hundreds  of  thousands  of  white  masters  and  black  slaves 
cultivate  the  cotton  that  clothes  the  world,  holds  the  Eastern  and 
Southern  United  Slates  together,  and  colonizer  Great  Britain  to 
their  staples,  commerce,  products,  navigation  and  manufactures. 
The  Creek  or  southwestern  campaign,  which  lasted  about  six 
months,  from  the  massacre  at  Fort  Mimms,  the  30th  August, 
1S13,  to  the  stormhig  of  the  Ilorse-Shoe  the  2Sth  March,  1S14, 
was  conducted  mostly  by  the  volunteers  and  militia  of  Georgia 
and  Tennessee.  But  few  regular  soldiers  took  part  in  it.  Nearly 
the  whole  service  was  obtained  from  fluctuating  and  irresponsi- 
ble levies,  eager  for  enterprise  and  fond  of  exploit,  but  averse  to 
obedience,  intractable  to  discipline,  incapable  of  fortitude,  dis- 
daining patience,  defying  control.  Militia  arc  like  the  feudal 
parade  by  knights'  service,  before  war  became  a  modern  science 
with  gunpowder,  firearms,  and  standing  armies,  when  every 
man  was  bound  to  serve  his  quarantine  of  forty  days,  equipped 
and  mounted  at  his  own  expense,  and  choosing  their  own  dukes 
or  leaders.  Such  was  the  only  legitimate  feudality,  upon  which 
royal  encroachments  and  usurpations  continually  trespassed,  till 
the  primitive  militiaman  became  a  mercenary  and  veteran  soldier 
inider  leaders  not  of  his  choice.     It  was  a  sort  of  revival  of  the 


If'''', 


h  .^' 


m 


.  ^M:'i^' 


340 


JACKSON'S    BATTLES. 


[OCT.,  1813. 


first  military  tenure  which,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  French  Revo- 
tion,  attracted  enthusiastic  volunteers  to  the  field,  who,  from  their 
own  ranks,  selected  and  promoted  future  marshals,  several  of  them 
with  more  courage  and  talents  than  their  vanquisher,  who,  at  the 
great  battle  of  Waterloo,  crowned  his  fortunate  career  by  con- 
quering their  immense  emperor.  Such  was  war  at  first,  and 
such  it  will  always  be.  The  splendid  and  squalid  chivalry  of 
the  middle  ages  intervened,  the  admiration  of  modern  romance 
and  burthen  of  song.  Between  the  slight  beginning  and  arbi- 
trary end  of  military  tenure,  which  is  the  happy  republican 
American  mean  ?  Volunteers  and  militia  for  shoi  t  terms,  im- 
perfectly organized,  all,  according  to  the  judgment  of  Washington 
and  Jackson,  are  infirm  of  purpose  and  unfit  for  reliance.  Yet, 
like  juries  in  courts  of  justice,  they  are  the  basis  of  the  whole. 
With  these  raw  materials,  Jackson  achieved  his  bright  career. 
Without  probably  having  ever  heard  a  volley  of  musketry,  or 
knowledge  of  arms  beyond  a  duel,  a  brawl,  perhaps  an  Indian 
surprise  ;  without  any  knowledge  but  from  the  tuition  of  mother- 
wit,  but  without  fear  either  physical  or  moral,  bold  to  despe- 
ration, yet  wary  to  the  utmost  discretion,  ferocious  as  a  tiger 
in  battle,  gentle  as  a  lamb  in  victory,  serious,  studious,  inde- 
fatigable, and  infinite  in  precaution,  that  extraordinary  man  was 
capable  of  prodigies  of  prowess.  History  hardly  records  two 
such  sanguinary  triumphs  within  twelve  mouths,  as  Jackson's  at 
Emuchfau  and  New  Orleans.  Much  more  numerous  armies 
have  fought  with  much  greater  slaughter.  But,  in  the  first,  to  use 
his  own  words,  he  exterminated  his  red  enemy,  and  in  the  last 
routed  his  white  enemy,  with  disproportion  of  destruction  unex- 
ampled. The  ratio  of  deaths  when  he  stormed  the  Indian  en- 
trenchments, and  when  the  English  attempted  to  storm  his  lines, 
was  nearly  three  hundred  of  his  enemies  killed  to  a  single  one  of 
his  soldiers.  Assailant  and  defendant,  he  had  this  transcendent 
success.  Indian  wars  schooled  him  for  European  ;  his  untried 
sword,  fleshed  in  the  blood  of  red  men,  was  dyed  deep  in  that 
of  whites.  Nothing  was  wanting  to  his  amazing  triumphs,  but 
that  Wellington  instead  of  Packenham,  as  was  at  first  intended, 
should  have  headed  the  invasion  of  Louisiana,  that  Jackson 
might  tear  from  the  brow  of  Napoleon's  conqueror,  the  laurels  of 
Waterloo.  The  Creek  campaign  of  1813  brought  forth  those 
striking  features  of  masculine  and  even  mighty  character,  after- 


1813. 


CHAP.  X.] 


ANDREW    JACKSON. 


341 


im- 


or 


wards,  through  life  and  death,  so  powerfully  developed  ;  a  com- 
bination ot  wisdom  without  learning,  passion  with  gentleness, 
animosity  with  benevolence,  devotion  w'u  )  destruction,  homi- 
cide with  homily,  seldom,  if  ever,  seen  in  any  man,  and  forming 
one  of  Roman  or  remote  antiquity.  Jackson  wore  the  helmet 
with  the  cowl,  like  some  mitred  warrior  of  the  darkest  age,  or, 
still  further  from  present  temperaments,  like  the  Roman  dictator, 
first  as  high  priest,  sacrificing  to  the  gods,  then  as  military  chief 
destroying  all  enemies.  Description  is  unequal  to  represent  either 
the  wild  scenery  of  this  campaign,  or  the  wilder  exploits  of  the 
man,  without  a  relative  and  without  a  fear,  a  solitary  man  of 
faith,  like  the  Roman  centurion's  faith,  greater  than  all  other 
men's,  entire  faith  in  God  and  in  his  country,  incapable  of  doubt, 
insensible  to  danger,  triumphant  over  every  obstacle,  not  except- 
ing death,  and  accomplishing  undertakings  for  which  science  or 
ordinary  talents  would  have  proved  of  no  avail.  The  general 
of  such  troops,  in  such  hostilities,  must  be  his  own  aid-de-camp, 
adjutant,  commissary,  clerk  and  composer  of  constant  written 
appeals  to  the  passions  of  his  own  camp,  often  more  formidable 
than  his  enemies.  Sharing  all  their  privations,  cheerful  in  hard- 
ship, cultivating,  in  every  way,  the  regard  of  his  men,  Jackson, 
nevertheless,  was  condemned  to  perpetual  commotions,  revolts, 
and  jeopardy.  Individuals,  companies,  regiments,  brigades, 
deserted  in  open  day  and  in  open  defiance  of  his  authority. 
After  every  resort  to  perilous  attempts  at  control,  he  was  forced 
to  try  the  unheard-of  severity  of  executing  a  mil  aman,  sen- 
tenced by  court  martial  to  death,  in  the  midst  of  the  wilderness. 
Even  that  fatal  rigour  did  not  intimidate  the  soldiery,  whose 
masses  melted  almost  into  dissolution,  leaving  hardly  more  than 
the  general  and  other  officers,  at  the  mercy  of  the  remorseless 
savages  in  the  desert.  Before  the  volunteers  and  militia  quite 
disappeared,  Jackson  contrived  to  make  another  excursion  into  the 
Indian  settlements,  where,  by  a  scries  of  attacks  on  the  22d  and 
23d  January,  1814,  he  routed  them  again  with  the  loss  of  1S9 
warriors  left  dead  on  the  field,  besides  many  more  killed  and 
wounded.  It  was  in  these  actions  that  his  most  distinguished 
pupils, Generals  Coffee  and  Carroll,  with  a  fewothei  noble-spirited 
officers,  deserted  by  their  men,  large  numbers  of  whom  had  gone 
home  in  spite  of  every  exertion  by  persuasion  or  force  to  retain 
them,  or  to  supply  their  places  in  time — Generals  Coffee  and  Car- 

29* 


■.■■   ..-,(■-  ..-i:-. 


f;l 


lii.  ;    s- 


342 


INDIAN    SUBJUGATION. 


[DEC,  1813. 


r-'i-fi 


roll,  with  a  few  other  officers,  embodied  themselves  and  fought  in 
a  corps  of  volunteers,  without  privates.  It  was  there  that  Lien- 
tenant  Armstrong  ejaculated  those  words  of  heroic  inspiration, 
which,  like  Lawrence's  on  ship-board,  become  national  rallying 
terms.  After,  with  his  own  hands,  assisted  by  his  men,  dragging 
cannon  to  the  top  of  an  nminence,  and  there  gallantly  serving  it, 
Armstrong,  when  shot  down,  called  to  his  comrades, «  My  brave 
fellows,  some  of  you  must  fall,  but  you  must  save  the  cannon." 
An  expression  somewhat  similar,  applied  to  the  Union,  was,  long 
after,  Jackson's  happy  inspiration.  To  fall  or  even  to  speak  well 
for  a  country,  seldom  fails  to  be  remembered,  but  is  almost 
always  rewarded,  whether  the  patriot  be  living  or  dead,  by 
national  plaudits,  favours  of  government,  historical  memorials, 
and  the  admiration  of  mankind. 

By  all  these  reverses  the  Creeks,  deprived  of  large  numbers  of 
their  warriors,  many  of  their  towns  and  settlements,  much  of 
their  confidence  in  themselves  and  their  false  prophets,  were  re- 
duced to  great  distress,  and  took  refuge  at  last  in  intrenchments, 
where  their  final  overthrow  was  completed  in  the  following 
March  by  Jackson's  storming  their  fortress  at  the  junction  of  t.ie 
Coosa  and  Tallapoosa  rivers. 

Not  till  they  were  nearly  extirpated,  did  the  brave  savages, 
seduced  from  partial  civilization  back  to  their  horrid  lives,  begin 
to  perceive  the  madness  which  tempted  them  to  European  alli- 
ances, much  worse  than  to  be  conquered  by  Americans.  As 
long  as  they  were  of  any  use,  England  and  Spain  persisted  in  this 
cruel  instigation.  Without  the  least  cause  for  dissatisfaction,  the 
northern  and  southern  Indians,  over  a  space  of  1500  miles  from 
Toronto  to  Pensacola,  were  confederated  in  shocking  hostilities, 
which  ended  in  their  subjection,  dispersion  and  extinction  or  de- 
portation. The  gallant  and  indignant  south-west  succeeded  not 
only  in  humbling  the  savages,  but  eventually  in  the  signal  dis- 
comfiture at  New  Orleans  of  those  who  put  the  tomahawk  and 
scalping  knife  in  the  hands  of  ignorant  barbarians,  till  then,  by 
many  years  of  assiduous  culture,  soothed  to  tranquillity  and  pro- 
gressive in  civilization.  The  second  seizure  of  Pensacola  from 
Spain,  in  1817,  and  execution  of  two  British  subjects,  hung  by 
Jackson  for  intermeddling  with  the  Florida  Indians,  without  either 
Great  Britain  or  Spain  retaliating  for  such  extreme  measures, 
the  justice  of  which  could  not  be  gainsaid,  were  but  parts  of  the 


CHAP.  X.] 


MILITIA    DISBAND. 


343 


» 


sct\iiel  and  retribution  for  English  and  Spanish  misdemeanor  there 
in  18  J  3.  It  was  not  only  Jackson's  design,  but  he  had  made 
the  preparatory  reconnoissance,  and  taken  the  necessary  steps, 
for  carrying  this  reaction  as  far  as  the  capture  of  Havana.  His 
bold  and  far-sighted  schemes,  few  of  whose  most  desperate  enter- 
prises ever  failed,  to  deprive  both  Spain  and  England  of  the 
finest  island  in  the  world  for  their  united  instigation  of  savages 
and  slaves  to  ravage  the  United  States,  may  yet  be  penalty  to  be 
paid  for  European  injustice  to  America  in  the  year  1813. 

After  the  battles  of  Tallishatchee  and  Talladega,  the  army  of 
General  Jackson  crumbled  to  pieces.  Nearly  the  whole  of  his 
volunteer  infantry  returned  home,  insisting  that  their  time  of  ser- 
vice expired  on  the  10th  of  December,  two  months  afi  r  their 
rendezvous  at  Nashville.  The  general  did  not  discharge  them, 
but  left  the  decision  with  the  Governor  of  Tennessee.  The 
force  remaining  at  Fort  Strother,  Ten  Islands  of  Coosa,  aniounted 
to  abou^  ;  men,  chiefly  drafted  militia ;  nearly  the  whole 
entitled  *  uarge  in  less  than  a  month.     Not  more  than 

150  or  2uO  (attached  to  the  general  personally,  and  remaining 
through  motives  of  aflfection)  were  left  with  him.  The  brigade  of 
cavalry  volunteers  and  mounted  riflemen,  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  Coffee,  being  ordered  into  the  settlements  to  recruit  their 
horses  for  a  few  days  and  procure  new  ones,  only  half,  perhaps 
800,  appeared  at  the  day  and  place  of  rendezvous;  and  of  these  not 
more  than  600  would  consent  to  stay  :  about  half  of  this  last 
numbero/fl?  volunteer  cavalry,thc  rest  newly-raised  mounted  men. 
Yet  General  Jackson  was  ordered  by  General  rinckney  to  garri- 
son and  maintain  every  inch  of  ground  he  gained,  while  thus 
all  the  active  exertions  of  the  campaign  were  paralyzed. — 
General  Cocke  returned  to  east  Tennessee,  to  collect  a  new  levy ; 
General  Roberts  from  west  Tennessee,  marched  out  about 
250  men.  Colonel  Carroll,  inspector-general  of  the  army,  five  or 
six  hundred  :  but  to  serve  not  longer  than  three  months.  With 
this  system  of  short  service,  wretched,  inefficient  and  expensive 
above  all  others,  Jackson  still  hoped  to  occupy  till  spring  the 
ground  he  had  won ;  but  had  no  army  sufficient  to  eflfect  the  com- 
plete discomfiture  and  prostration  of  the  Creek  power,  becoming 
every  day  a  work  of  greater  difficulty.  The  English  had  appeared 
in  force  at  Pensacola  ;  seven  sail,  having  troops  on  board,  be- 
sides two  bomb  vessels.     Orleans  was  menaced;  Mobile  in  great 


tii 


f: .  ..: 


1st,'. 


W' 


WX/^: 


a-? 
■■*,"■  J 


344 


CREEK    CAMPAIGN. 


[1813. 


danger. 


The  force  on  the  Tombigbee  remained  stationed  there, 
the  3d  regiment  of  regulars  ascending  the  Alabama,  was  called 
thither  also,  which  gave  the  Creeks  breathing  time,  and  reduced 
the  force  necessary  to  crush  tiiem.  There  was  every  reason  to 
apprehend  that  Augustine  would  be  occupied  by  British  troops, 
and  from  all  points  arms,  ammunitio  i,  men  and  leaders  pushed  to 
the  aid  of  the  upper  and  middle  Creeks  ;  and  that  the  Seminoles 
with  runaway  negroes  among  them,  v.'ould  be  turned  loose  upon 
the  sea  coast  of  Georgia.  About  the  end  of  the  year  1813,  Gene- 
ral Jackson  was  also  extremely  short  of  provisions,  which  General 
Claiboine  was  transporting  to  him.  General  Floyd  was  on  the 
Tallapoosa  about  80  miles  froai  Jackson,  w^ho  had  few  reliable 
men  left  with  him  besides  Captain  Gordon's  company  of  spies, 
and  Captain  Deadrick's  artillery;  altogether  not  more  than  150 
old  troops.  He  called  loudly  for  men  enlisted  for  the  campaign, 
or  at  least  for  six  months'  service.  At  last.  Colonel  William's  regi- 
me it,  the  39th  regulars,  twelve-month's  men,  were  ordered  to 
his  assistance. 

The  south-western  campaign  of  constant  and  complete  vic- 
tories was  no  series  of  either  cheap,  rapid;  or  easy  conquest. 
The  resistance  of  the  Circassians  to  Russia,  in  Caucasus,  of  the 
Aftghans  to  Great  Britain,  in  India,  of  the  Florida  Indians,  a  few 
of  whom  for  many  years  foiled  the  United  States,  and  in  the 
year  1813,  Spanish  guerilla  resistance  to  the  armies  of  France, 
which  well-informed  Spaniards  believe  would  have  been  more 
effectual  without  English  assistance,  when  the  best  Frencli  troops 
and  officers  were  withdrawn  for  the  invasion  of  Russia,  show 
what  a  united  and  exasperated  people  can  do,  however  compara- 
tively few,  unskilled  in  war,  and  unprovided  with  its  materials, 
against  the  most  imposing  invader.  Handfuls  of  martial  men, 
defending  wild,  wooded  and  mountainous  regions,  are  as  effective 
and  formidable  in  little  warfare,  as  great  and  combined  armies 
for  great  warfare.  The  downfall  of  the  Creek  Indians  was  attri- 
butable, like  Napoleon's,  (o  indomitable  and  overweening  con- 
fidence. If  content  to  roam  the  wilderness  in  small  bands,  and 
be  assassins  instead  of  warriors,  they  would  have  been  longer 
invincible,  might  indeed  have  been  crowned  with  success,  and  at 
all  events  could  have  protracted  hostilities  till  another  year, 
when  a  large  British  army  landed  upon  their  shores.  And  it 
was  uncertain  where  its  attack  would  take  place. 


i". 


[1813. 


CHAP.  X.] 


CREEK    CAMPAIGN. 


345 


longer 

,  and  at 

r  year, 

And  it 


Jackson's  high  temper  was  much  excited  by  the  difficulties  he 
encountered :  not  those  of  the  battle  or  even  the  camp,  co  much  as 
from  the  inherent  vice  of  short  levies,  frequent  changes,  and  the 
never-failing  disadvantages  of  reliance  on  mere  voluntary  soldiers. 
In  his  firs*  general  orders,  issued  before  he  left  Nashville,  strongly 
inculcating  subordination,  obedience  and  discipline,  he  endea- 
voured to  rouso  southern  pride  by  holding  up  northern  militia 
misconduct  to  i  cprobation.  But  he  found  his  own  career  arrested 
by  the  same  infirmity,  though  it  appeared  in  a  somewhat  different 
form.  The  high  standing  of  Tennessee  for  patriotism  is  tarnished, 
said  he,  by  miscreants,  M^hose  sole  object  is  popularity  and  a^  jran- 
direment.  In  these  unmtsn'ired  terms  did  he  denounce  following 
popularity  in  the  first  stage  of  a  career,  which  endowed  him  with 
more  of  it  t'.ian  fell  to  the  share  of  any  other  man  of  his  time. 

In  a  letter  to  General  William  Cocke,  a  venerable  gentleman 
of  sixty-five,  who  attended  Jackson  in  his  roughest  encounters, 
you  have  seen,  said  the  indignant  general,  how  these  would-be 
patriots,  these  town-meeting  boasters,  men  who  will  not  act 
themselves,  but  find  fault  wiih  everything,  have  been  destroying 
their  country.  I  find  that  those  who  talk  most  pf  war,  and 
make  the  most  bustle  about  injured  rights  at  home,  are  the  last 
to  step  forward  in  vindication  of  those  rights.  Patriotism  is  an 
appendage  which  they  wear  as  a  coquette  does  a  ribbon,  merely 
for  show,  to  be  laid  aside,  or  applied,  as  necessity  may  xaquire. 
In  this  language  lay  the  germs  of  personal  enmities,  which  all  his 
triumphs  could  not  soften ;  but  which  he  wisely  defied  with  as 
littlo  hesitation  as  he  did  firearms  in  battle.  With  these  views  of 
the  duiLi-lties  of  that  campaign,  corresponding  with  the  experi- 
ence of  all  military  enterprises  by  raw  troops,  especially  those 
whose  time  of  service  elapses  before  they  can  be  disciplined,  yet 
the  basis,  if  not  the  bulwark  of  national  defenco,  we  may  pass 
to  its  conclusion.  It  became  indispensable  to  strengthen  Jackson 
with  militia,  drafted  from  North  and  South  Carolina,  before  offen- 
sive operations  could  be  resumed  in  Alabama.  1200  men  from 
North  Carolina,commanded  by  Colonel  Pearson,  brother  of  Joseph 
Pearson,  one  of  the  members  of  Congress  from  that  state,  with 
part  of  the  8th  regiment  of  regular  infantry,  one  rifle  company, 
and  two  troops  of  dragoons,  were  stationed  at  Fort  Hawkins,  and 
at  the  different  forts  erected  by  General  Floyd  in  other  parts  of 
the  Creek  nation.    Still,  supplies  were  deficient  on  which  the 


>  t  > 


346 


BATTLE    OF    EMUCHFAU. 


[JAN.,  1814. 


best  and  bravest  soldiers  are  dependent  for  success ;  and  which 
were  extremely  difficult  of  procurement  and  transportation  in 
those  rude  regions,  without  roads  or  other  common  Pieans.  At 
length,  however,  all  General  Pinckney  and  General  Jackson's 
arrangements  were  completed :  and  shortly  before  Congress  ad- 
journed that  session,  we  received  at  Washington  the  characteristic 
dispatches  of  both  these  generals,  with  the  joyful,  though  dreadful 
end  of  the  Creek  war.  While  the  sigh  of  humanity,  said  General 
Pinckney  in  hisofficial  letter  to  Governor  Peter  Early,  of  Georgia, 
while  the  sigh  of  humanity  will  escape  for  profuse  effusion  of 
human  blood,  which  results  from  the  savage  principle  of  our 
enemy,  neither  to  give  nor  accept  quarter — with  acknowledg- 
ment to  the  military  talents  of  General  Jackson,  supported  by 
the  distinguished  valour  and  good  conduct  of  the  troops  he 
commanded,  we  have  ample  cause  of  gratitude  to  the  Giver  of 
all  victory  for  thus  continuing  his  protection  to  our  women 
and  children,  who  would  otherwise  be  exposed  to  the  indiscrimi- 
nate havoc  of  the  tomahawk,  and  all  the  horrors  of  savage  war- 
fare. In  such  humane,  yet  determined  terms,  wrote  one  of  these 
excellent  officers.  From  the  battle-ground  in  the  bend  of  the  Talla- 
poosa, the  other,  General  Jackson,  wrote,  I  reached  the  head  near 
Emuchfau,  called  by  the  whites  the  liorse-Shoe,  on  my  expedition 
to  the  Tallapoosa  yesterday.  I  found  the  strength  of  the  neigh- 
bouring towns,  Oakfuskee,  Oakehoga,  New  Yaacau,  Hillibees,  the 
Fish-pond  and  Eufalee  towns,  to  the  number,  it  is  said,  of  1000 
collected,  expecting  our  approach.  It  is  difficult  to  conceive  a 
situation  more  eligible  for  defence  than  they  had  chosen,  or 
rendered  more  secure  than  by  the  skill  with  which  they  erected 
their  breastwork;  extending  from  five  to  eight  feet  high  across 
the  point,  so  that  a  force  approaching  it  would  be  exposed  to  a 
double  fire,  while  they  lay  in  perfect  security  behind.  Deter- 
mining to  exterminate  them,  Jackson  attempted  to  carry  the 
place  by  other  means  than  storming  it,  before  he  gave  the 
order  for  assault,  for  which  the  men  were  waiting  with  impa- 
tience and  hailed  with  acclamation.  The  history  of  warfare 
furnishes  few  instances  of  more  brilliant  attack;  the  regulars,  led 
by  their  intrepid  and  skilful  commander.  Colonel  Williams,  and 
the  gallant  Major  Montgomery,  the  militia  of  the  venerable 
General  Doherty's  brigade,  with  a  vivacity  and  firmness  which 
would  have  done  bono  ir  to  regulars,  the  whole  in  the  midst  of 


r 


CHAP.  X.] 


BATTIfi    OF    EMUCHPAU. 


347 


or 


a  tremendous  fire,  stormed  the  works.  557  Indians  were  left 
dead  in  the  peninsula,  a  great  number  killed  by  the  horsemen 
attempting  to  cross  the  river,  who  concealed  themselves  under 
its  banks.  The  fighting  continued  five  hours,  till  night.  Sixteen 
Indians  were  killed  next  day  who  had  concealed  themselves. 
Not  more  than  twenty  esca'^f^d  :  250  prisoners,  all  women  and 
children  but  two  or  three  men,  were  taken.  Our  loss  was  25  killed 
and  106  wounded.  Thus,  as  Jackson  wrote,  the  massacre  at 
Fort  Mimms  was  retaliated,  the  Creek  warriors  exterminated, 
their  power  forever  broken.  In  order  to  get  to  Emuchfau  he 
had  to  open  a  passage  from  the  24th  to  the  27th  of  March,  of  more 
than  fifty-two  miles  over  the  ridges,  dividing  the  two  rivers, 
before  he  reached  the  gror.jd  of  his  former  battles  on  the  22d 
and  23d  of  January.  Nature  seldom  affords  such  a  place  for 
defence,  nor  did  barbarians  ever  render  one  more  secure  by  art 
than  Emuchfau,  Their  works  were  compact,  strong  and  liigh, 
with  double  rows  of  port  holes  artfully  arranged  in  their  wall, 
commanding  a  peninsula  of  from  eighty  to  a  hundred  acres. 
They  maintained  the  contest  through  the  port-holes,  muzzle  to 
muzzle,  welding  some  of  tb'^ir  Lalls  to  the  bayonets  of  our  mus- 
kets, fighting  to  the  last  with  the  bravery  of  despair.  The  whole 
margin  of  the  river  was  strewed  with  Indians  slain,  as  at  New 
Orlea.is  the  front  of  Jackson's  lines  was  covered  with  English. — 
Among  the  dead  was  found  Monshoee,  the  prophet,  killed  by  a 
grape  shot  in  the  mouth.  Two  other  prophets  were  also  killed. 
The  Cherokees  with  Jackson  had  18  killed  and  36  wounded,  the 
friendly  Creeks  5  killed  and  11  wounded;  for  their  civil  war  en- 
dured from  first  to  last  of  this  contest.  Williams'  regular  regiment 
had  53  v/oundedaad  19  killed,  among  them  Major  Montgomery, 
Lieutenants  Somerville  and  Moulton.  Captain  Bradford,  of  tne 
17th  regiment  of  regular  infantry,  officiating  as  chief  engineer, 
superintended  the  firing  of  the  cannon.  The  militia,  orderly  on 
march  and  in  encampment,  were  as  brave  as  the  bravest  in  this 
battle. 

In  a  few  days,  Jackson  marched  his  victorious  troops  to  the 
Hickory  grounds.  The  country  at  large  acknowledged  the 
bravery  and  good  conduct  of  all  of  them,  regulars,  volunteers,  and 
militia,  Georgians  and  Tennesseeans  engaged  in  tlie  campaign 
thus  terminated,  though  parts  of  the  United  States,  perhaps  the 
opposition  generally,  imputed  ferocity  and  cruelty  to  the  southern 


If 

^  We  \»i  *" 


^^:■m 


,*'' 
K 

\'^' 


I'rt   ■    ' 
»j<''   ■     '•I 


Is  " 


348 


CREEK    DISPERSION. 


[APRIL,  1814. 


and  western  soldieiy.  But  what  hostilities  are  without  ferocity  ? 
or  battle  without  cruel  homicides  ?  Desperate  fanaticism  fitimu- 
lated  the  Indians  to  terrible  excesses,  and  just  principles  of 
retribution  required  retaliation.  As  General  Pinckney's  dis- 
patcli  stated,  they  neither  give  nor  take  quarter,  nor  make  prison- 
ers. Extermination  is  their  rule,  and  with  tortures.  The  savage 
spirit  is  at  once  barbarous  and  heroic,  detestable  and  admirable. 
In  their  only  southern  triumph,  at  Fort  Mimms,  not  a  soul  was 
saved  alive  but  the  few  that  escaped :  women,  children,  and  all, 
were  atrociously  put  to  dreadful  death.  Hundreds  of  families, 
those  ingrates,  in  return  for  kind  treatment,  drove  from  their 
homes  and  hunted  like  wild  beasts,  covered  with  mourning  or 
with  rags.  An  excited  people  flocked  from  all  parts  to  revenge 
these  monstrous  wrongs,  regretting  that  at  least  till  another  year, 
they  could  not  punish  their  instigators.  When  it  was  said  then 
that  the  south-western  Americans  behaved  as  ill  as  the  English 
on  the  north-western  frontier,  by  murdering  the  wounded  and 
prisoners,  it  was  forgotten  that  the  unhappy  victims  at  Raisin  had 
surrendered  and  were  shielded  by  capitulation,  when  sacrificed. 
Not  only  the  rules  of  civilized  war,  but  the  plighted  faith  of 
British  officers  protected  and  should  have  saved,  when  they  were 
permitted  to  be  massacred  in  cold  blood.  The  battle  of  Emuch- 
fau  was  no  doubt  terrible  vengeance  for  the  massacre  at  Fort 
Mimms,  and  many  other  cruelties  which  it  was  necessary  to 
retaliate.  The  only  part  of  the  execution  obnoxious  to  censure, 
however,  was  killing  the  sixteen  Indians  found  concealed  the  day 
after  the  fort  was  stormed,  who,  if  they  could  have  been  safely 
secured,  might,  as  prisoners,  have  added  more  lustre  to  our  arms 
than  as  slain. 

Immediately  after  the  storming  of  Emuchfau,  the  great  body 
of  the  hostile  Creeks,  not  garrisoned  there,  dispersed  and  fled 
precipitately  towards  the  Spanish  forts  of  St.  Marks  and  Pensa- 
cola.  Many  were  killed  in  their  flight  by  Colonel  Russell's  de- 
tachment, among  them  the  prophet  Francis.  At  the  Hickory 
grounds,  they  fled  from  Jackson's  approach  and  sent  proposals 
of  peace  on  unconditional  terms,  on  the  18th  April,  being  then 
driven  to  great  distress.  McQueen,  with  still  500  adherents,  fell 
•  -k  on  the  Escambia  river,  near  Pensacola.  A  number  of 
X).%  surrendered  unconditionally.      The  chief  of  Cowetan, 


CHAP.  X.] 


WEATHEKSFORD. 


349 


with  Marsiiall,  a  half-breed,  repaired  to  Washington  early  in 
May,  to  consult  the  president  as  to  the  disposition  of  the  Creek 
lands,  forfeited  by  their  misconduct.  The  most  striking,  how- 
ever, and  characteristic  circumstance  of  the  submission  of  these 
unhappy  savages  was  Weathersford's  immolation  of  himself  for 
the  rest  of  his  countrymen.  He  led  the  attack  at  Fort  Mimm.s, 
and  was  one  of  the  chief  perpetrators  in  its  atrocities.  After  the 
storming  of  Emuchfau,  General  Jackson  required  that  he  should 
be  surrendered  for  execution,  as  is  always  customary,  in  fact  the 
rule,  when  Indian  murders  are  committed.  The  Creek  war 
began  by  our  agent  insisting  on  ihe  surrender  of  some  of  the 
first  to  commit  outrages  on  our  people.  The  question  whether 
they  should  be  given  up,  was  the  issue  of  war  or  peace  between 
the  patriot  and  peace  parties.  The  vanquished  but  fearless  chief- 
tain, Weathersford,  still  reeking  with  the  blood  of  the  Mimms 
massacre,  disdaining  to  be  taken  captive  for  surrender  to  the  con- 
querors of  his  country,  and  escaping  all  General  Jackson's  efforts 
to  take  him,  nobly  resolved  on  a  much  bolder  alternative,  which 
proved,  as  such  resorts  often  do,  the  means  of  his  security  and 
honour.  Contriving  to  elude  all  Jackson's  sentinels  and  guards, 
he  made  good  liis  entrance  unperceived  to  the  general's  presence; 
amazed  at  such  a  guest,  but  always  collected  and,  as  with  savages 
is  especially  necessary,  betraying  no  movement  of  surprise.  "  Ge- 
neral," said  the  brave  barbarian,  "  I  have  fnnglit  you  with  all 
my  might,  and  done  all  the  harm  I  could.  But  you  have  con- 
quered. I  am  in  your  power,  to  do  with  as  you  will.  I  have 
only  to  lament  the  misfortunes  of  my  people.  For  myself  I  am 
prepared  for  any  fate.  Behold  me  in  your  presence,  but  not  at 
your  feet;  your  captive,  but  no  supplicant."  Jackson  was  too 
generous,  too  wise,  too  politic,  to  take  the  life  of  such  a  prisoner, 
or  do  him  any  harm.  He  treated  him  with  respect,  won  him  by 
kindness,  and  made  good  use  of  him  in  engaging  others  of  his 
nation  to  throw  themselves  on  the  victor's  mercy. 

As  Marius  overthrew  his  swarthy  foes  inNumidia  in  frequent 
battles,  and  with  prodigious  disparity  of  internecion,  Jackson 
exterminated  the  Creeks,  capturing  their  chief,  as  Jugurtha  was 
at  last  made  prisoner.  The  names  of  the  Numidian  battle- 
grounds are  wild  and  barbarous,  like  those  in  Alabama.  And 
when  Weathersford  abruptly  appeared  in  Jackson's  tent  at  mid- 
night, the  general,  undisturbed  by  so  alarming  a  visitor,  calm, 

VOL.  1,-30 


■  n. 


'^-: 


Ir" 


m 
IP 


:  >'•':'  :  ■■■•  ',■■ 


d^d-^i 


350 


INDIAN    SUBMISSION. 


[tSU. 


collected,  commanding,  reminds  us  of  Marius  and  tlie  assassin 
sent  to  put  him  to  death,  awed  by  his  stern  countenance  and  lofty 
inquiry  whether  he  dared  kill  Caius  Marius,  retiring,  unable  to 
execute  his  office. 

Early  in  May  the  Tennessee  tr<Jops  returned  home,  after  com- 
pleting their  triumphant  campaign,  proud  of  their  exploits.  The 
North  and  South  Carolina  milit'a,  together  with  some  of  the 
regulars,  remained  to  garrison  ilie  Crc'k  country,  termed  the 
Nation,  at  the  fork  of  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa  rivers,  where  once 
stood  one  of  the  few  antiquities  of  that  uncultivated  region,  an  old 
French  fort  called  Toulouse.  In  place  of  it  General  Pinckney 
wiio,  by  this  time,  joined  General  Jackson,  caused  a  new  fort 
to  be  built  there  and  called  it  after  the  brave  Tennessee  com- 
mander, Jackson.  About  the  same  time  that  these  arrangements 
were  making  at  that  American  Toulouse,  the  last  of  the  French 
armies  driven  out  of  Spain,  was  bravely,  under  Marshal  Soult. 
but  in  vain,  fighting  the  battle  of  Toulouse,  in  the  south  of 
France,  where  the  Duke  of  Wellington  effected  his  triumphant 
entry  into  that  country,  and  overthrew  the  greatest  of  modern 
commanders.  On  the  18th  April,  1814,  Jackson  wrote  to  Go- 
vernor Blount,  from  the  junction  of  the  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa  : 
The  campaign  is  drawing  to  a  prosperous  close.  We  have  scoured 
the  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa  and  intervening  country.  Part  of  the 
enemy  escaped  over  the  latter  and  fled  in  consternation  to  Pen- 
sacola.  But  many  of  the  former  have  come  in,  and  others  are 
hourly  coming  to  surrender.  We  will  overtake  the  fugitives  and 
make  them  feel  that  there  is  no  more  safety  in  flight  than  resist- 
ance. They  must  supplicate  for  peace  if  they  wish  to  enjoy  it. 
Many  negroes  taken  at  Fort  Mimms,  and  one  white  woman  are 
delivered  up,  with  her  two  children.  The  Tallapoosa  king  is 
here  confined.  The  Tostahatchee  king  of  the  Hickory  ground, 
has  delivered  himself  up.  Weathersford  has  been  with  me,  but 
I  did  not  confine  him.  McQueen  was  taken  but  escaped.  Hil- 
linghagee,  their  great  prophet,  has  absconded,  but  we  will  catch 
him.    Such  is  the  situation  of  the  savage  instigators  of  the  war. 

Part  of  the  regular  troops  under  Colonel  Russell,  being  sta- 
tioned at  Fort  Jackson,  (the  first  time  of  many  hundreds  that 
name  began  to  be  gratefully  conferred  on  places  and  persons,) 
the  rest  were  marched  to  the  seaboard,  and  some  of  them  fixed 
at  Mobile,  where  General  Jackson's  head-quarters  were  after- 


^. 


CHAP.  X.] 


INDIAN    MISERY. 


351 


king  is 


wards  established.  Tlie  Carolina  militia,  garrisoned  the  interme- 
diate places  till  their  term  of  service  expired.  General  Pinckney 
and  Colonel  Hawkins  arrived  about  the  '.iOlh  of  April,  181 1,  at 
Fort  Jackson.  The  once  happy  and  haughty  Creek  nation  pre- 
sented a  melancholy  and  distressing  spectacle.  Tlieir  sullerings 
are  indescribable,  most  of  tlicm  never  witnessed  by  any  but  them- 
selves, draining  the  dregs  of  humiliation,  many  reduced  by  fa- 
mine to  mere  skeletons ;  others,  through  hunger  and  fear,  became 
lunatics.  The  face  of  the  country  and  the  people  was  changed 
from  plenty  and  peace,  to  poverty,  starvation,  wretchedness  and 
ruin.  The  humanity  of  American  government  was  conspicuous 
on  this  sad  occasion  for  it.  Every  effort  was  made  to  mitigate 
the  sullerings  of  the  dejected  savages.  To  such  a  pitch  was 
their  madness  of  fanaticism  carried,  that  they  had  thrown  away 
their  hoes  and  other  agricultural  implements — taught  to  regard 
civilization  as  their  greatest  calamity,  every  trace  of  it  was  de- 
stroyed. The  humane  and  intelligent  of  England  could  not  have 
been  aware  of  the  distress  of  these  abused  savages. 

Tlic  splendid  vernal  daylight  of  Alabama,  clearer  than  even 
Italian  sunshine,  was  contrasted  at  the  period  of  these  events  by 
accounts  of  one  of  those  dismal  days  in  London,  which  so  strongly 
contrast  with  American  atmosphere.  A  fog  so  dense  and  op- 
pressive shrouded  that  great  metropolis,  that  very  few  persons 
ventured  out,  except  on  pressing  business ;  and  no  sound  was 
heard  out  of  doors  but  the  voice  of  the  watchman,  or  the  noise  of 
some  solitary  carriage,  cautiously  feeling  its  way  through  the 
gloom.  It  extended  as  far  as  the  Downs,  a  distance  of  70  miles, 
and  far  in  other  directions.  The  wind  in  the  interval  blew  uni- 
formly from  the  north-east.  There  had  been  nothing  like  this 
fog  since  the  great  earthquake  at  Lisbon,  half  a  century  before. 
The  fog  then  lasted  eight  days.  To  a  person  who  went  up  to 
London  from  a  clear  open  country,  during  two  or  three  days,  it 
seemed  as  if  descending  into  a  coal-pit,  to  see  persons  walking 
with  a  little  torch  or  a  candle  at  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  trying 
to  find  out  in  their  own  street,  their  own  habitation,  and  some  of 
them  so  bewildered  as  to  knock  at  their  neighbours'  doors,  to  ask 
where  their  own  houses  were.  Some  of  the  public  stages  and 
coaches  were  obliged  to  be  left  in  the  road,  and  their  horses  taken 
out — many  were  overturned  and  several  people  injured.  Several 
persons  having  missed  their  way,  fell  into  the  rivers  and  canals, 


>  mm 


•'4- 


352 


ATTEMPT    ON    THE    SLAVES. 


[1813. 


and  were  drowned.  The  mail  coaches  which  reached  London 
were  niuny  hours  belated,  the  passengers  obhged  to  get  out,  and 
the  drivers  to   lead  their  horses. 

Soon  after  the  iirst  successes  of  Generals  Floyd,  White  and 
Jackson,  there  were  appearances  of  a  favourable  change  in  the 
conduct  of  the  Spanish  authorities  of  Florida.  In  February  Col- 
onel Hawkins  had  advices  from  a  runner  sent  to  the  Seniinolcs 
that  the  Governor  of  Pensacola,  in  a  talk  with  the  chiefs  of 
their  villages,  had  said  to  them,  that  being  an  uninformed  people, 
they  ought  to  bo  advised  by  their  elders,  and  help  them  to  put 
down  the  prophets,  who  were  injuring  them  by  falsehoods.  They 
had  deceived,  divided  and  ruined  the  nation.  It  had  misapplied 
the  powder  he  gave  them  to  hunt  provisions  with.  If  the  English 
came,  they  would  be  driven  away  by  the  Americans.  They  had 
deceived  the  Indians  before,  and  would  again.  The  deception 
practised  on  him,  this  Spanish  governor  said,  was  through  the 
fears  of  his  under  officers,  who  urged  him  to  alliance  with  the 
prophet's  party,  and  to  supply  them  with  ammunition. 

Perhaps  the  Spaniards  were  never  more  than  passive  instru- 
:aents  of  England  in  these  hostilities.  IJut  toward  the  conclusion 
of  the  Creek  campaign,  the  British  fleets  and  forces  began  to 
threaten  that  formidable  descent  which  was  etl'ected  in  the  au- 
tumn. Though  their  reliance  on  the  savages  had  failed  then> 
that  on  the  slaves  remained  in  full  belief  of  its  realization.  Gene- 
ral Pinckiicy  was  kept  throughout  the  summer  of  1S13,  continu- 
ally alarmed  by  English  designs  on  the  slave  population.  Pro- 
clamations were  sent  ashore  by  Admiral  Cochrane,  obviously 
addressed  to  the  blacks  ;  stating  that  all  persons  desirous  of  re- 
moving from  the  United  States  to  Europe,  or  the  British  West 
Indies,  upon  letting  it  be  known  when  and  where  they  would 
embark,  would  find  English  vessels  ready  to  receive  them,  with 
option  whether  to  enter  the  army  or  navy,  or  settle  wherever 
they  chose  in  his  Britannic  majesty's  dominions.  On  this  un- 
usual and  ungenerous,  if  not  unwarrantable  method  of  waging 
war,  to  which  the  English  government  had  recourse,  signally  de- 
feated, disgraced  and  punished  as  it  was,  during  the  next  year  of 
the  war,  it  is  premature  to  enter  in  recounting  the  occurrences  of 
the  year  1813.  The  narrative,  however,  would  be  imperfect  if  it 
did  not  mention  its  first  appearance.  The  naval  commander-in- 
chief,  Admiral  Cochrane,  gave  formal  notice  to  our  government 


CHAP.  X.] 


CREEK     SUDJUG  AXIOM. 


353 


that  it  was  the  prince  roj>;eiit's  dctermiimtioii  and  orders  to  all 
his  subjects  to  carry  on  a  war,  more  barliarous,  bloody  and  de- 
structive, than  war's  civilized  and  recognized  usages  allow. 

Soon  after  General  .fackson's  last  before-mentioned  letter,  he 
left  the  Alabama  army  under  command  of  CJencral  Pinckney, 
who  joined  him  at  the  place  to  be  called  Fort  .Jackson.  The 
Tennessee  militia  oflicer  had  now  begun  his  race  of  renown. 
His  return  home  was  a  triumphant  progress. — The  resignation 
of  (Jeneral  Harrison  enabled  the  president  to  nominate  Jackson 
a  brigadier-general  and  major-general  by  brevet  in  the  regular 
army.  While  hesitating  whether  to  accept  that  grade,  1  iving 
long  been  a  major-general  of  militia  and  proved  his  capacity  for 
command,  the  resignation  of  Major-General  Hampton  allorded 
an  opportunity  to  gratify  his  aspiration:  and  Andrew  Jackson, 
who  had  been  postponed  in  order  to  appoint  General  Winchester 
to  a  brigade,  became  a  divisionary  commander,  and  the  junior 
major-general  in  the  regular  army. 

As  the  tawny,  if  not  negro  kings  of  Africa  and  parts  of  Asia, 
repaired  to  Rome  to  acknowledge  fealty  for  the  crowns  they  held 
by  republican  sufferance,  the  Creek  chieftains  by  that  campaign 
were  constrained  to  visit  Washington  to  make  terms  of  pacifica- 
tion ;  and  for  territories  more  extensive,  and  far  more  productive 
than  the  dominions  of  several  German  sovereignties,  which  now 
give  princes  to  Great  Britain,  Belgium  and  Portugal.  At  an 
ancient  French  fortress,  raised  in  the  American  desert  before  an 
Englishman  had  put  his  foot  in  Alabama,  where  the  Coosa  and 
Tallapoosa  united  their  clear  streams  and  harmonious  Indian 
names,  the  king  of  the  Hickory  grounds,  Tostahatchee,  was  a 
prisoner ;  with  a  prophet,  Hilligahee,  and  a  celebrate''  chieftain 
Weathersford.  These  noble,  though  ferocious  barbrvi -wS  had 
not  fled  their  country  when  in  danger,  as  the  oldest  and  most 
accomplished  nobility  of  Europe  did  its  finest  kingdom,  nor  sub- 
mitted till  nearly  exterminated,  but  bravely  fougla  till  the  last, 
and  even  when  conquered,  continued  still  untf^rrifiod  and  dignified 
in  their  overthrow.  If  they  could  write  their  history,  every 
page  might  sparkle  with  the  exploits  of  heroism.  Instead  of 
which  it  is  the  task  of  others  to  record  their  mournful  downfall 
and  to  gather  it  from  their  treaties  with  the  United  States.  The 
significant  catalogue  of  treaties  with  the  Creek  nation,  part  of 
the  American  code  of  laws,  as  ratified  by  the  Senate  of  the  United 

30* 


« 


354 


CREEK    TREATIES. 


[NOV.,  1813, 


St   ■ 


iM 


States,  thus  records  their  decline  :  first,  a  treaty  of  peace  and 
friendship  with  Washington,  negotiated  by  General  Henry  Knox, 
Secretary  of  War,  in  1790 ;  next  a  treaty  oi peace  andfnendship 
negotiated  by  Benjamin  Hawkins,  George  Clyiner  and  Andrew 
Pickens,  in  1792;  then  a  treaty  of  limits  negotiated  by  James 
Wilkinson,  Benjamin  Hawkins  and  Andrew  Pickens*  m  1803 ; 
ano.  her  such  treaty  arranged  with  General  Dearborn,  Secretary 
of ''^'"•,  in  1805;  at  last  an  agreement  and  capitulation  negotiated 
witi  them  by  General  Andrew  Jackson  in  1814.    These  treaties, 
forn  ally  submitted  by  presidents  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  mark  the  decline  of  an  established  and  proud  people, 
more  ancient  than  their  conquerors,  falling  gradually  from  stipu- 
lations of  national  friendship  at  first  to  those  of  limits,  and  finally 
of  capitulation.  The  last  treaty  with  Jackson  surrendered  to  victors 
much  of  their  country  and  all  their  independence.  Whereas,  is 
the  tenour  of  it,  an  unprovoked,  inhuman  and  sanguinary  war, 
waged  by  the  hostile  Creeks  against  the  United  States,  hatii  been 
repelled,  prosecuted  and  determined  successfully  on  the  part  of 
the  states,  in  conformity  with  principles  of  national  justice  and 
honourable  warfare:  and  whereas, consideration  is  due  to  the 
rectitude  of  proceeding  dictated  by  instructions  relating  to  the 
re-establishment  of  peace  :  be  it  remembered,  that  prior  to  the 
conquest  of  that  part  of  the  Creek  nation  hostile  to  the  United 
States,  numberless  aggressions  had  been  committed  against  the 
peace,  the  property  and  the  lives  of  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  those  ot  the  Creek  nation  in  amity  with  her,  at  the  rnouth  of 
Duck  river,  Fort  Mimms  and  elsewhere,  contrary  to  national 
faith  and  the  regard  due  to  an  article  of  the  treaty  concluded  at 
Mevr  York,  in  the  year  1790,  between  the  two  nations;  that  the 
United  States,  previous  to  the  perpetration  of  sue',  outrages,  did, 
in  order  to  insure  future  amity  and  concord  between  the  Creek 
nation  and  the  said  states,  in  conformity  with  the  stipulations  of 
former  treaties,  fulfil  with  punctuality  and  good  faith,  her  engage- 
ments to  the  said  nation :  that  more  than  two-thirds  of  the 
whole  number  of  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  Creek  nation,  disre- 
garding the  genuine  spirit  of  existing  treaties,  sufl'ered  themselves 
to  be  instigated  to  violations  of  their  national  honour,  and  the 
respect  due  to  a  part  of  their  own  nation  faithful  to  the  United 
States  and  the  principles  of  humanity,  by  impostors  denominating 
themselves  prophets,  and  by  the  duplicity  and  misrepresentation 


CHAP.  X.] 


CREEK    TREATY. 


356 


of  foreign  emissaries,  Avhose  governments  are  at  war,  open  or 
understood,  with  the  United  State,-'  Wherefore,  1st,  the  United 
States  demand  an  equivalent  for  all  the  expenses  incurred  in 
prosecuting  the  war  to  its  termination,  by  accession  of  all  the 
territory  belonging  to  the  Creek  nation,  within  the  territories  of 
the  United  States  lying,  &c.:  provided,  nevertheless,  that  where 
any  possession  of  any  chief  or  warrior  of  the  Creek  nation,  who 
shall  have  been  friendly  to  the  United  States  during  the  war,  and 
taken  an  active  part  therein,  shall  be  within  the  territory  ceded 
by  these  articles  to  the  United  States,  every  such  person  shall  be 
entitled  to  a  reservation  of  land  within  the  said  territory  of  one 
mile  square,  to  include  his  improvements  as  near  the  centre 
thereof  as  may  be,  which  shall  inure  to  the  said  chief  or  warrior 
and  his  descendants,  so  long  as  he  or  they  shall  continue  to 
occupy  the  same,  who  shall  be  protected  by  and  subject  to  the 
laws  of  the  United  States ;  but  upon  the  voluntary  abandonment 
thereof,  by  such  possessor  or  his  descendants,  the  right  of  occu- 
pancy or  possession  of  said  lands  shall  devolve  to  the  United 
States,  and  be  identified  with  the  right  of  property  ceded  thereby. 

The  United  States  demand  that  the  Creek  nation  abandon  all 
communication,  and  cease  to  hold  any  intercourse  with  any 
British  or  Spanish  post,  garrison  or  town ;  and  that  they  shall  not 
admit  among  them  any  agent  or  trader,  who  shall  not  derive 
authority  to  hold  commercial  or  other  intercourse  with  them,  by 
license  from  the  president  or  authorized  agent  of  the  United 
States. 

The  United  States  demand  the  capture  and  surrender  of  all  the 
prophets  and  instigators  of  the  war,  whether  foreigners  or  natives, 
who  have  not  submitted  to  the  arms  of  the  United  States,  and 
become  parties  to  these  articles  of  capitulation,  if  ever  they  shall 
be  found  within  the  territory  guaranteed  to  the  Creek  nation  by 
the  second  article. 

The  Creek  nation  being  reduced  to  extreme  want,  and  not  at 
present  having  the  means  of  subsistence,  the  United  States, 
from  motives  of  humanity,  will  continue  to  furnish  gratuitously 
the  necessaries  of  life  until  the  crop?:  of  corn  can  be  considered 
competent  to  yield  the  nation  a  supply,  and  will  establish  trading 
houses  in  the  nation  at  the  discretion  of  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  and  at  such  places  as  he  shall  direct,  to  enable  the 
nation,  by  industry  and  economy,  to  procure  clothing. 


.**.' 


li.'r?.' 


356 


SPANISH    TREATY. 


[OCT.,  1813. 


Thirty-six  Indian  chiefs  signed  at  Fort  Jackson  this  mortifying 
capitulation  with  Major-Generai  Andrew  Jaci<son,  Adjutant-Ge- 
neral Robert  Butler,  Benjamin  Hawkins,  United  States  agent  for 
Indian  affairs,  and  Return  J.  Meigs,  agent  for  the  Creek  nation ; 
by  English  instigation  to  ferocious  hostilities,  compelled  to  yield 
the  independence,  and  nearly  the  existence,  of  a  noble  nation  de- 
serving better  fate  ;  which  the  government  of  the  United  States, 
by  every  consideration  of  policy  and  principle  of  honour,  was 
bound  to  preserve  from  degradation.  The  fate  of  the  Creeks  is 
one  of  the  most  memorable  lessons  of  the  war  of  1812. 

Generals  Pinckney  and  Jackson,  who  closed  the  Creek  war, 
both  natives  of  South  Carolina,  brought  together  at  Toulouse  in 
Alabama,  after  having  met  as  members  of  Congress  when  the 
seat  of  government  was  at  Philadelphia,  were  eminent  Ameri- 
cans, the  one  then  terminating,  the  other  beginning,  distinguished 
public  service.  Pinckney  negotiated  at  Madrid  the  treaty  with 
Spain  in  1795  :  Jackson  that  with  the  Creek  nation  in  1814.  In 
that  interval  of  less  than  twenty  years  the  vast  Spanish  empire 
was  commencing  a  declension  which,  in  1795,  who  could  have 
foreseen  ?  The  treaty  then  signed  by  Pinckney  and  the  Prince 
of  Peace  designated  the  southern  boundary  of  the  United  States 
from  the  Spanish  colonies  of  East  and  West  Florida,  and  the 
middle  of  the  channel  of  the  river  Mississippi  as  their  western  boun- 
dary. It  stipulated  that  the  high  contracting  parties  shall,  by  all 
means  in  their  power,  maintain  peace  and  harmony  among  the 
several  Indian  nations  who  inhabit  the  country,  adjacent  to  the 
lines  and  rivers  which  form  the  boundaries  of  the  two  Floridas ; 
and  restrain  by  force  all  hostilities  on  the  part  of  the  Indian  nations 
living  within  their  boundary ;  so  that  Spain  will  not  suffer  her 
Indians  to  attack  the  citizens  of  the  United  States,  nor  the  Indians 
inhabiting  their  territory ;  that  no  treaty  but  of  peace  shall  be 
made  by  either  party,  with  Indians  living  within  the  boundary  of 
the  other,  but  endeavour  to  make  the  advantages  of  the  Indian 
trade  mutually  common,  and  beneficial  to  each  nation.  No  one 
therefore  knew  better  than  General  Pinckney  how  that  treaty  was 
infringed  by  Spanish  agents  under  English  influence.  That  leading 
treaty  in  American  diplomacy,  foreign  intercourse  and  maritime 
principles,  stipulates,  moreover,  those  generous  rules  of  interna- 
tional government,  which  the  United  States  have  always  main- 
tained, together  with  nearly  all  other  seafaring  nations,  except 


*.- 


CHAP.  X.] 


GENERAL    PINCKNEY. 


357 


Great  Britain,  by  whom  they  have  been  constantly  rsjected. — 
Privilege  of  undisturbed  departure  without  molestation  after  war, 
a  principle  proclaimed  by  English  Magna  Charta,  restoration  of 
property  taken  from  pirates,  security  for  property  wrecked,  free 
ships,  free  goods,  free  colonial  trade  between  ports  of  enemies, 
legitimate  specification  of  contraband  articles  and  restriction  of 
blockade  to  actual  investment,  no  search  or  visitation  of  vessels 
but  by  boats,  with  only  two  or  three  men  without  force,  were 
established  by  that  treaty  to  be  perpetual  law  between  Spain  and 
the  United  States. 

Pinckney,  born  one  of  the  gentry  of  South  Carolina,  educated 
in  Europe,  as  most  of  them  were  before  the  means  of  education 
became  common  in  this  country ;  brought  up  to  refinement  and 
luxury  ;  with  numerous,  opulent  and  elevated  connections,  was 
held  in  high  social  as  well  as  political  esteem.  Jackson  was 
alone  in  the  world,  without  a  relative  or  fortune,  but  of  his  own 
acquisition,  or  education  beyond  its  mere  rudiments.  The  ac- 
complishments and  elegancies  of  refined  youth  to  which  Pinckney 
was  born  and  bred,  were  unknown  to  Jackson.  After  serving 
as  a  captain  in  the  army  of  the  Revolution,  Major  Pinckney  (as 
by  that  servici-  he  was  entitled  to  be  called),  became  one  of  the 
most  respectable  citizens  of  Carolina.  Washington  selected  him 
to  succeed  John  Adams  as  American  Minister  at  the  court  of 
London,  where  Major  Pinckney  was  Minister  Plenipotentiary 
in  1794,  when  Jay  negotiated  the  treaty  commonly  known  as 
Jay's  treaty,  one  of  the  first  and  angriest  of  the  controversial 
topics  dividing  American  parties.  After  spending  several  years 
as  American  minister  in  England,  (when  the  American  represent- 
ative there  was  not  so  well  considered  as  he  has  been  since  the 
war  of  1812,  placed  this  couF.try  on  a  footing  of  national  equality, 
enhancing  social  as  well  as  political  acceptance,)  Major  Pinckney 
was  succeeded  there  by  Rufus  King.  Returning  home,  he  was 
elected  a  meinber  of  Congress,  in  which  body  he  was  much  re- 
spected for  solidity  of  judgment,  dignity  of  character,  consistency 
and  candour  of  politics,  as  a  distinguished  member  of  the  ori- 
ginal federal  party  in  its  first  era.  Major  Pinckney,  General 
Jackson  and  Mr.  Madison  were  all  members  of  Congress  toge 
ther.  Major  Pinckney's  elder  brother,  Charles  Cotesworth  Pinck- 
ney, was  one  of  the  special  envoys  from  the  United  States  to 
France,after  wards  candidate  of  the  federal  party  for  the  presidency 


if 


h  ■:'■<■ 


~  ( 


358 


PINCKNEY    AND    JACKSON. 


[DEC     1813. 


when  Jetlerson  was  elected,  Majoi  Thomas  Pinckiiey  was 
chosen  Governor  of  South  CaroHna  ,  in  which  office  his  just  pride 
was,  with  the  firmness  for  which  he  was  remaricable,  that  lie 
never  exercised  the  much-abused  power  to  pardon ;  believing  that 
the  law,  to  be  respected,  must  be  enforced.  Authorized  by  act  of 
Congress, preparatory  to  wui,  to  appoint  six  major-generals,  Pre- 
sident Madison,  with  his  n:  •'•m  regard  to  wise  conciliation,  se- 
lected Major  Pinckney  at  ne  -1  them  from  the  party  opposed  to  his 
administration,  and  to  the  war.  His  honourable  course  was  draw- 
ing to  a  close,  as  Jackson's  great  career  was  beginning  when  they 
met  in  the  wilds  of  Alabama,  at  an  old  French  fort,  to  dictate  terms 
to  a  conquered  people.  Less  demonstrative,  communicative,  fierce 
or  commanding  than  General  Jackson,  General  Pinckney  was  a 
man  of  tried  courage  and  firmness,  slight  of  person,  mild,  taciturn, 
reserved,  but  inflexible  and  high-minded.  From  the  palaces  ot 
Madrid,  and  the  pleasures  of  London,  to  the  wilderness  of  Ala- 
bama, and  the  privations  of  Fort  Jackson,  what  a  change  for  the 
one  !  Emerging  from  frontier  life  to  rise  to  the  summit  of  Ameri- 
can elevation,  what  a  career  for  the  other  who  was  long  alter, 
even  by  admirers  of  his  great  abilities,  called  a  Tennessee  bar- 
barian ! 

In  the  course  of  human  events,  the  vast  Spanish  empire,  like 
the  Nation,  as  the  Creeks  were  called,  was  crumbling  to  decay. 
Its  American  possessions,  whose  anarchical  independence  no  hu- 
man foresight  could  conceive  in  1795,  when  Pinckney  dwelt  in 
the  proud  metropolis  of  Spain,  were  already  in  1813  shaking  oil' 
those  colonial  yokes  which  General  Jackson,  as  Chief  Magistrate 
of  the  United  States,  was  to  break  to  pieces.  A  batttle  was  to 
be  won  by  his  Tennessee  pupil  at  San  Jacinto,  wresting  from 
Spanish  colonists  a  part  of  what  they  considered  part  of  their 
Mexican  republic.  A  Mexican  republic  was  to  be  acknowledged 
by  Spain,  and  one  of  its  provinces  acknowledged  as  another  re- 
public by  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain.  Pinckney,  in  the 
Moorish  splendours  of  Madrid,  treating  with  the  superb  minion 
of  royal  imbecility,  styled  the  Prince  of  Peace,  established  bounds 
of  empires  which  Jackson  obliterated.  In  17^5  the  titles  of  that 
upstart  prince  bespoke  more  wealth, dominion  and  power  than  we*  e 
contained  in  1813  in  all  Alabama  and  Mississippi,  if  not  Tennes- 
see :  the  most  excellent  Lord  Don  Manuel  de  Godoy,  and  Albarez 
de  Faria,  Rios,  lanchez  de  Zarzosa ;  Prince  de  la  Paz,  Duke  de 


Sv    "  ^  -* 


CHAP.  X.]' 


PRESIDENT'S    MESSAGE. 


369 


Alcudia  ;  lord  of  the  Soto  de  Romr.,  and  of  the  state  of  Albala  ; 
grandef:  of  Spain  of  the  first  class ;  perpetual  regidor  of  the  city 
of  Santiago  ;  knight  of  the  illustrious  order  of  the  Golden  Fleece, 
and  great  cross  of  the  royal  and  distinguished  Spanish  order  of 
Charles  the  3d  ;  commander  of  Valencia  del  Ventoso  Riviera,  and 
Aunchal  in  that  of  Santiago ;  knight  and  great  cross  of  the  religious 
order  of  St.  John ;  counsellor  of  state  ;  first  secretary  of  state  and 
despatcho;  secretary  to  the  queen  ;  superintendent-general  of  the 
ports  and  highways ;  protector  of  the  royal  academy  of  the  noble 
arts,  and  of  the  royal  societies  of  natural  history,  botany,  chemistry 
and  astronomy  •  gentleman  of  the  king's  chamber  in  employment ; 
captain-general  of  his  armies  ;  inspector  and  major  of  the  royal 
corps  of  body  guards,  &c.  &c.  &c.     Appointing  Thomas  Pinck- 
ney  to  negotiate  with  the  gorgeous  minister  of  Spain,  Washing- 
ton, the  president  of  the  then  only  republic,  could  confer  on  him 
no  title  but  that  of  citizen  of  the  United  States.     Already  that 
citizenship  is  a  protection  from  the  St.  Lawrence  to  the  Rio  Grande 
del  Norte,  and  Spain  looks  to  this  country  to  preserve  Cuba,  the 
last  colony  of  Spain,  from  Great  Britain.  Such  changes  of  empire 
has  this  century  evolved ;  many  of  them  ascribable,  in  great  part, 
to  the  militia-general  whose  career  began  in  the  Creek  war  of  1813. 
In  his  annual  message  to  Congress  the  7th  of  December,  1813, 
when  the  south-western  campaign  was  yet  far  from  completion, 
indeed  when  the  militia  and  volunteer  troops  were  beginning  to 
fail,  and  there  was  too  much  reason  to  apprehend  that  the  issue 
would  not  be  as  triumphant  as  it  proved  before  that  session  of 
Congress  closed,  the  president's  digest  of  that  memorable  cam- 
paign was  that  the  cr'.elty  of  the  enemy  in  enlisting  the  savages 
into  a  war  v;ith  a  nation  desirous  of  mutual  emulation  in  miti- 
gating its  calamities,  has  not  been  confined  to  any  one  quarter. 
Wherever  they  could  be  turned  against  us,  no  exertions  to 
effect  it  had  been  spared.    On  our  south-western  border  the 
Creek  tribes,  who,  yielding  to  our  persevering  endeavours,  were 
gradually  acquiring  more  civilized  habits,  became  the  unfor- 
tunate victims  of  seduction.  A  war  in  that  quarter  has  been  the 
consequence,  infuriated  by  a  bloody  fanaticism,  recently  pro- 
pagated among  them. 

It  was  necessary  to  crush  such  a  war  before  it  could  spread 
among  the  contiguous  tribes,  and  before  it  could  favour  enter- 
prizes  of  the  enemy  into  that  vicinity.    With  this  view  a  force 


"tm^i 


ii 


W4^ 

nil' 


m  ■ 


1?:  /•^•'S^i 


360 


PRESIDENT'S    MESSAGE. 


[DEC,  1813. 


was  called  into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  from  the  states 
of  Georgia  and  Tennessee,  wliich,  with  the  nearest  regular 
troops,  and  other  corps  from  the  Mississippi  territory,  minitt  not 
only  chastise  the  savages  ii.to  present  peace,  but  make  •  lasting 
impression  on  their  fears. 

The  progress  of  tliv  expedition,  as  flxr  ar  is  yet  known,  ocrrc- 
sponds  with  the  martial  zeal  with  whicl;  it  was  espoused ;  and  the 
best  hopes  of  a  satisfactory  is^ne  are  authorized  by  the  coniiilete 
success  with  which  a  well-pkiuMed  enterprise  was  executed 
ugainst  a  body  of  hostile  savages  by  a  detachment  of  volunteer 
militia  of  Tennessee,  under  the  gallant  command  of  General 
Cofliie  ;  and  by  a  still  more  impciicint  victory  ovef  a  larger  part 
of  them,  gaiiK'd  under  the  immediate  commt  id  of  Maj  m-- 
General  Jack  ^I'li,  an  otlicer  equally  distinguished  lor  liis  patriot- 
ism and  his  ivuiilary  talents. 

The  systematic  perseverance  of  the  enemy,  in  courting  the  aid 
of  the  savnges  in  uV  qnarlers,  had  the  natural  effect  \A'  kindling 
their  oidinrn-y  propensity  lor  war  into  a  passion,  which  even 
among  thuse  best  disposed  towards  the  United  States,  v  as  ready, 
if  not  employed  on  our  side,  to  be  turned  against  u^.  A  de- 
parture from  our  protracted  forbearance  to  accept  the  services 
tendered  by  them,  has  tlius  been  forced  upon  us.  But,  in  yield- 
ing to  it,  the  retaliation  has  been  mitigated  as  much  as  possible, 
both  in  its  extent  and  in  its  character,  stopping  far  short  of  the 
example  of  the  enemy,  '•'ho  owe  the  advantages  they  have  occa- 
r^Jonally  gained  in  battle,  chiefly  to  the  number  of  their  savage 
associates  ;  and  who  have  not  controlled  them  either  from  their 
usual  practice  of  indiscriminate  massacre  on  defenceless  inhabi- 
tants, or  from  scenes  of  carnage  without  a  parallel,  on  prisoners 
to  the  British  arms,  guarded  by  all  the  laws  of  humanity  and 
of  honourable  war. 

For  these  enormities  the  enemy  are  equally  responsible,  whe- 
ther with  the  power  to  prevent  them,  they  want  tlie  will,  or 
with  the  knowledge  of  a  want  of  power  they  still  avail  them- 
selves of  such  instruments. 


f>A' 


CHAP.  XL] 


AMERICAN    NAVY. 


361 


CHAPTER    XI. 


N  A  V  A  L    W  A  .i  F  A  R  E . 

COMMERCIAL  AND  RKLLIOKRF.NT  FOUNDATIONS  OF  AMERICAN  NAVV. 
—NELSON'S  VIEW  OK  IT.— SEIZURE  OF  FRIGATE  CHESAPEAKE.— 
IMPRESSMENT  AND  COMMERCIAL  WRONGS.— DISCIPLINE  AND  CON- 
FIDENCE OF  THE  AMERICAN  NAVY.— WANT  OF  DISCIPLINE  AND 
OVER-CONFIDENCE  OF  URITISH.— AMERICAN  SUPERIORITY.— ENGLISH 
NAVY  UNEQUAL  IN  FORCE  TO  AMERICAN,  IN  AMEHICA  IN  1812.— 
ENGLISH  SHIPS  ENUaIeRATED— AND  AMERICAN.— CULPAHLE  NEGLI- 
GENCE AND  TIMIDITY  OF  AMERICAN  GOVERNMENT.— DETEUMINED 
TO  LAY  UP  NAVY  AS  PORT  DEFENCES  WHEN  IP  MIGHT  HAVE  SUB- 
DUED THAT  OF  ENGLAND.— ENGLISH  VIEWS  OF  THAT  SUIi.lECT.- 
MR.  GALLATIN'S  SCHEME.— VISIT  OF  CAPTAINS  HAINBRIDGE  AND 
STEWART  TO  WASHINGTON.— THEIR  REMONSTRANCE  AGAINST  DIS- 
MANTLING THE  N.'  'Y.— MADISON  YIELDS  TO  IT.— FRIGATE  CONSTI- 
TUTION'S FIRST  CUISE  AND  CAPTURE  OF  THE  GUERRIERE  CON- 
TRARY TO  ORVERS.— CHASE  OF  THE  CONSTITUTION  BY  ENGLISH 
SQUADRON.— CHASE  OF  THE  BELVIDERA  BY  AMERICAN  SQUADRON.— 
SEABOARD  SENTIMENT  CONCERNING  NAVY.— DREAD  OF  ENGLAND.— 
CAPTURE  OF  THE  GUERRIERE.— ENGLISH  VIEWS  OF  IT.— CAPTURE 
OF  THE  QUEEN  CHARLOTTE  AND  DETROIT  ON  LAKE  ERIE.— FROLIC 
BY  WASP.— MACEDONIAN  BY  UNITED  STATES.— JAVA  BY  CONSTITU- 
TION.—PEACOCK  BY  HORNET.  —  BAINBRIDGE.  —  DECATUR.— HULL.— 
CAPTURE  OF  CHESAPEAKE  BY  SHANNON.— LAWRENCE.— HIS  CHAL- 
LENGE OF  LA  BONNE  CITOYENNE.— LIEUTENANT  COX.— HIS  COURT 
MARTIAL.— SALUTARY  NATIONAL  EFFECTS  OF  THE  LOSS  OF  THE 
CHESAPEAKE  BY  COUNTERACTION  OF  EASTERN  DISAFFECTION.— 
SALUTARY  NAVAL  EFFECTS  OF  LAWRENCE'S  INDISCRETION.— MR. 
QUINCY'S  RESOLUTIONS  IN  THE  SENATE  OF  MASSACHUSETTS.— NAVY 
ADOPTED  BY  THE  NATION.— CRUISES  OF  THE  FRIGATES  PRESIDENT, 
CONGRESS,  AND  ESSEX.— NAVAL  AMERICAN  CAPACITY  —  INEFFI- 
CIENCY OF  ENGLISH  MARINE.— COMPARATIVE  COST  OF  WAR  AND 
PEACE  BY  SEA.— LAKE  WARFARE.— ON  CIIAMPLAIN— ON  ONTARIO.— 
CHAUNCEY'S  PURSUIT  OF  YEO.— RUNNING  FIGHT. -YPM'S  ESCAPE 
AND  CHAUNCEY'S  OMISSION  TO  DESTROY  THE  ENGLI.SH  FLEET.— CON- 
TEST OF  SHIP-BUILDING.— ENORMOUS  EXPENSE  OF  LAKE  CONFLICTS 
BY  LAND  AND  WATER.— LORD  COCHRANE'S  RESOLUTIONS  IN  THE 
HOUSE  OF  COMMONS.— COMPARISON  OF  AMERICAN  AND  ENGLISH 
MARINE.— CAPTURES  OF  THE  TWO  FROM  EACH  OTHER  IN  I8I2  AND 
1813.— SUPERIORITY  OF  THE  AMERICAN— CAUSES  OF  IT.— WAR  0]f 
1812  MADE  AMERICAN  NAVY  FROM  LONG-PREPARED  MATERIALS.— 
ITS  CHARACTER— AND  REWARDS. 


•^. 


■>'..■. 

if. 

K. 

if 

I" 


The  foundations  of  uaval  power  are  extensive  commerce, 
VOL.  I. — 31 


A'^. 


^'t. 


%'-^' 


v,*3 


W^>  ^' 


362 


AMERICAN    NAVY. 


[1812. 


n'.'.r.ierous  shipping  and  seamen,  enterprizing  merchants  and 
aiventurous  mariners;  in  all  of  which  the  United  States  abound. 
1\  eir  first  estabUshments  were  along  the  Atlantic  from  the  Bay 
of  i^undy  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico:  their  present  extension  is  there 
ana  vipon  the  inland  seas  of  the  west,  where  not  less  than  fifteen 
thotsand  mariners  are  already  employed.  Commerce  has  always 
been  a  principal,  for  many  years  their  main,  reliance.  From 
their  colonial  condition  they  have  always  been  the  most  expert 
navigators.  Their  first  hostilities,  as  an  independent  nation,  were 
by  sea,  with  the  French  in  1797,  '!)8,  and  '99,  to  vindicate  foreign 
commerce  from  wrongs.  Their  next  were  with  the  corsair 
powers  of  Northern  Africa,  for  like  vindication;  wliose  depreda- 
tions throughout  the  Mediterranean  had  lojig  been  tolerated  by 
the  great  naval  kingdoms  of  Europe — even  England  fcUowing 
the  United  States  in  that  emancipation.  With  increasing  com- 
merce has  grown  an  American  spirit  to  free  the  ocean  iTom  all 
unjust  restraints.  As  in  1801  they  were  the  only  people  lo  resist 
the  Algerines,  Tunisians,  and  Tripolitans,  so  in  1842  they  alone 
disputed,  at  least  by  remonstrance  and  negotiation,  which  might 
lead  to  force,  the  inveterate  pretensions  of  Denmark  to  exclude 
from  the  Baltic  all  navigation  not  paying  imposition  as  sound 
dues  during  a  long  tract  of  time  exacted,  like  toll  for  leave  to  pass 
the  gates  of  that  entrance  to  Russia,  to  Sweden;  and  to  Denmark. 
Though  no  party  by  contract  to  the  armed  neutrality  of  1800, 
the  United  States  were  in  principle  and  sympathy  a  member  of 
that  coalition,  as  to  that  of  1780  they  were  more  /ormally.  Not 
long  after  the  most  renowned  of  Great  Britain's  admirals,  Ncison, 
by  the  famous  battle  of  the  Nile,  broke  down  the  naval  exist- 
ence of  France,  expelled,  like  that  of  Holland,  and  of  Spain, 
from  the  ocean  by  British  ascendency,  on  the  1st  July,  1801,  an 
American  squadron,  under  Commodore  Richard  Dale,  with  Cap- 
tains Samuel  and  James  Barron,  William  Bainbridge,  and  An- 
drew Sterrett,in  the  flag  ship  President,  and  her  consorts,  anchored 
at  Gibraltar.  Washington's  administration  laid  the  keels  of  an 
American  navy.  Adams'  administration  put  their  prows  upon 
the  seas,  with  perhaps  precipitate  development.  Jefferson,  ac- 
cused of  aversion  to  the  navy,  was  no  sooner  installed  as  presi- 
dent than  he  recommended  to  Congress  the  enactment  of  his 
resolution,  formed  many  years  before,  when  American  minister 
in  France,  to  add  independence  by  force  from  barbarian  com- 
mercial oppression  to  that  declared  and  achieved  from  British 


CHAP.  XI.] 


AMERICAN    NAVY. 


363 


erson,  ac- 


hy the  seven  3/ears  war  of  the  RovohUion.  Commodore  Dale 
derived  his  naval  character  from  service  by  sea  in  that  war,  on 
hoard  Paul  Jones'  ship,  the  Bon  Homme  Richard,  in  combat 
with  a  British  frigate,  displaying  the  courage,  the  skill,  the 
resource,  the  endurance,  which,  with  more  than  English  free- 
dom, united  to  perfect  discipline,  constitute  the  perfection  of 
naval  superiority.  The  most  renowned  of  Great  Britain's  famous 
admirals,  Nelson,  remarking  the  seamanship  of  Dale's  squadron, 
which  he  attentively  surveyed  through  his  glass,  observed  to  an 
American  gentleman  on  board  of  his  ship  at  the  time,  that  there 
was  in  those  transatlantic  ships  a  nucleus  of  trouble  for  the 
maritime  power  of  Great  Britain.  We  have  nothing  to  fear,  said 
Admiral  Nelson,  from  anything  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic;  but 
the  manner  in  which  those  ships  are  handled  makes  me  think  that 
there  may  be  a  time  when  we  shall  have  trouble  from  the  other. 
The  poorly  equipped  and  provided  American  vessels  of  the  war 
of  (he  Revolution,  contending  against  the  overwhelming  odds  of 
British  might  by  sea,  long  before  indicated  what  Nelson  disco- 
vered. 

A  spread  of  commerce  in  1812,  rapidly  overtaking  the  tonnage 
of  England,  and  ever  since  constantly  increasing  so  as  to  be  now 
the  second,  with  a  certainty  of  becoming  the  first  in  the  world, 
opens  wide  those  streams  of  belligerent  naval  faculty,  which 
flow  from  the  inexhaustible  fountains  of  commercial.  The 
United  States  of  America  furnish  some  of  thi  best  seamen  and 
petty  officers  in  both  the  conn.iercial  and  navel  marine  of  Great 
Ih'itain :  men  more  intelligent,  more  active,  more  sober,  and 
more  tractable  than  English  sailors.  Notwithstanding  the 
great  superiority  in  number  and  size  of  vessels  which  Great 
Britain  has  over  the  United  States,  if  all  the  American  mariners 
afloat  could  he  gathered  into  the  American  navy,  such  as  it  is,  or 
such  as  it  might  be  made  after  a  single  year's  material  organiza- 
tion, it  may  be  doubted  whether  a  contest  between  the  Ameri- 
can marine,  national  and  private  armed  on  the  one  side,  and  the 
liritish  navy  on  the  other,  would  be  altogether  desperate.  There 
are,  moreover,  naval  alliances  which  might  reinforce  America, 
thus  raised  so  near  to  physical  eqiJality  with  England  as  to 
leave  only  the  trial  of  seamanship,  discipline,  gunnery  and  navi- 
gation, in  which  in  1812  American  ships  of  war  unquestionably 
surpassed  English.  Holland,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Spain,  France, 
Italy,  all  Europe,  th"-t  ever  had  ships,  commerce,  or  colonies,  have 


t 

.V 


■m 


364 


AMERICAN    NAVY. 


[1812. 


f;i 


If. 


t^r 


'd^JfM 


large  arrearages  of  maritime  wrongs  to  settle  with  Great  Britain, 
on  whose  co-oponitiou  the  United  Slates  may  recicon,  and  who, 
since  the  war  of  ISlii,  regard  the  American  navy  as  that  destined 
to  breaif  the  fetters  of  the  si-a.  Its  trials  and  experience  from  its 
creation,  in  tiie  French  hostilities  of  1707,  '98.  and  '99,  with  the 
African  barbarians  in  1801,  '02,  '0.3,  '04,  and  '05,  from  the  time 
of  Nelson's  prediction  to  its  fulfilment  by  the  war  of  1812,  were 
the  best  apprenticeship.  The  sciznre  of  the  frigate  Chesapeake 
in  our  own  waters  in  1807,  tlie  brutal  outrages  inflicted  by  im- 
pressment on  American  sailors  everywhere,  the  paper  blockades, 
admiralty  perversions  of  tiie  law  of  nations,  orders  in  council, 
contumelious  vexations  of  our  commerce,  the  whole  course  of 
English  insolence,  arrogance,  oppression,  and  flagrant  injustice, 
disarmed  their  navy  by  false  confidence,  while  it  armed  ours  by 
a  strong  spirit  of  vindication. 

Tliis  spirit,  though  restrained  by  the  extreme  forbearance  of 
Jefl'erson's  policy,  was  roused  by  the  continual  war  cries  of  the 
merchants,  till  the  nation  was  at  last  forced  into  war  just  wlien, 
however  unprepared  government,  Congress  and  the  executive 
were,  the  sentiment  of  the  people  of  all  parties  was  nearly 
unanimous  tliat  war  was  indispensable  and  just,  of  the  war 
party  that  it  should  be  risked  at  all  events,  witliout  further  pre- 
paration, and  the  conviction  of  the  navy,  both  men  and  officers, 
that  they  could  beat  the  English  in  equal  combat.  The  seamen 
were  admirably  schooled  and  disciplined.  The  officers  were 
confident  of  their  crews,  their  sliips  and  themselves,  all  eager  for 
trial,  and  upon  rational  calculations.  The  English  were  spoiled 
by  success  everywhere  over  every  itagonist ;  profoundly  con- 
temptuous, both  nation  and  navy,  of  the  truckling,  gain-loving 
submission,  the  insignificant  marine,  the  time-serving  govern- 
ment, the  party-siruck  and  divided  people  of  the  United  States. 
English  ships  of  war  were  not  well  manned,  in  either  the  com- 
plement or  composition  of  their  crews;  their  discipline  was 
loose;  their  gunnery  negligent  and  never  good,  so  inferior  to 
ours  that  in  any  contest  with  equal  force,  American  success  was 
well  nigh  certain.  So  our  officers  thought,  and  they  were 
right  in  thinking  so.  They  knew  their  own  strength  and  their 
enemy's  weakness.  Although  the  crew  of  the  Constitution, 
when  by  the  easy  capture  of  the  Guerriere  she  signalized  the 
first  demonstration  of  this  state  of  things,  was  not  a  good  crew, 
as  well  prepared  as  Captain  Hull  desired,  yet  their  practice 


i'..' 


CHAP.  Ml 


AMERICAN    NAVY. 


365 


had  been  so  much  more  constant  and  instructive  than  that  of 
Captain  Dacre's  ship,  vapouring  and  vaunting  along  our  coasts, 
that  botii  Americans  and  Enghsli  Wcro  C(|naily  surprised,  not 
so  much  at  the  victory  as  at  tlie  rapidity  of  execution,  the  ease 
and  tiie  striking  disparity  of  destruction  with  wliich  it  was  ac- 
com{)hshed.  In  Dacre's  defence  before  the  court-martial  whicii 
tried  and  properly  acquitted  him,  no  mention  whatever  was 
made  of  the  absurd  pretexts  afterwards  assigned  lor  American 
superiority.  His  masts  were  rotten,  he  pleaded,  his  ten  im- 
pressed American  sailors  would  not  fight  their  countrymen,  the 
Constitution  was  manned  by  British  seamen,  men  personally 
known  to  that  mendacious  captain,  who  desired  nothing  better 
than  another  chance  with  a  ship  like  tlie  Guerriere  of  meeting 
the  Constitution,  whose  success  lie  attributed  to  the  mere  fortune 
of  war.  None  of  the  absurd  apologies  were  at  first  broached 
wliicli  were  afterwards  attempted  ;  greater  size  of  ships,  weight 
of  metal,  number  of  men.  The  simple  fact  was  that  the  English 
were  taken  oil'  their  guard  by  Americans  upon  their  guard.  That 
explanation  is  the  truth  as  far  as  respects  discipline,  gunnery  and 
a  sentimental  cause  to  nerve  American  combatants.  It  remains 
to  be  seen  in  another  struggle  whether  superior  seamanship, 
intelligence,  docility,  sobriety  and  greater  liberty  combined  with 
kindlier  obedience,  are  not  elements  of  mastery  to  overcome  better 
preparation  than  the  English  brought  to  the  war  of  1812,  when 
they  were  less  prepared  in  discipline  than  we  were  in  shipping. 

The  number  of  English  vessels  on  the  American  stations,  the 
quality  of  their  crews,  their  discipline,  gunnery  and  condition 
in  all  respects,  moral,  political  and  physical,  were  such  that  if 
our  naval  department  had  been  conducted  with  ability,  the  outset 
of  hostilities  by  sea  might  have  not  merely  confounded  England 
and  surprised  America,  but  crippled,  if  not  paralyzed,  British 
naval  supremacy,  at  least  temporarily,  in  America.  In  the  second 
chapter  of  this  historical  sketch  the  project  of  a  young  officer  is 
submitted  for  conquering  Canada  in  Nova  Scotia ;  striking  the 
root  at  Halifax  instead  of  beating  the  branches  at  York,  Mon- 
treal, and  Fort  George.  The  Halifax  campaign  might  have 
failed,  as  all  great  undertakings  are  liable  to  discomfiture.  But 
its  failure  could  not  have  been  more  signal  or  disgraceful  than 
the  attempts  to  invade  Canada  further  west  in  1S12  and  1813. 
Leaving  that  land  view  of  this  subject,  we  are  now  to  see  whe- 

31* 


366 


ENOLISII     NAVAL     FORCK. 


[JUNE,  1812. 


"»■■■ 


l-^ 


Ml- 


thcr  the  American  navy  was  not  strong  enough  hi  June,  1812, 
to  have  inlhcted  incalculable  injury  on  the  enemy,  with  corre- 
sponding advantage  and  honour  to  this  country.  In  the  chapter 
to  follow  this,  a  third  view  of  the  eastern  method  of  begiiming 
the  war  will  be  presented:  that  of  French  ships  of  war,  either 
by  themselves  or  in  concert  with  America,  attacking  the  English 
marine,  military  and  commercial,  on  the  American  coast.  At 
present  we  are  to  ascertain  whether  the  American  navy,  seizing 
the  moment  when  Great  Britain,  wholly  unprepared  for,  and 
incredulous  of  the  American  declaration  of  war,  was  taken  un- 
prepared for  it,  with  small  and  imperfect  vessels  of  war  on  the 
American  station,  whether  the  American  navy  was  not  then 
suflicient  to  have  performed,  if  well  directed,  much  more  than  it 
did  by  several  however  impressive  isolated  naval  victories.  At 
the  time  of,  or  before  the  war,  the  British  American  naval  sta- 
tions were,  the  Halifax  station,  connnanded  by  Admiral  Herbert 
Sawyer,  the  Jamaica  station,  commanded  by  Admiral  Charles 
Stirling,  and  the  Leeward  Island  station,  commanded  by  Ad- 
miral Francis  Foley.  Although  the  Halifax  station  miglit  have 
been  reinforced  from  the  other  stations,  yet  it  could  not  have 
been  before  August,  after  news  of  the  declaration  of  war,  and 
would  not  have  been,  because  the  Halifax  force  was  deemed 
much  superior  to  the  whole  American  navy.  On  that  station 
there  was  no  formidable  ship.  The  Africa  64  was  the  largest; 
the  Inflexible  64,  and  the  Centurion  50,  were  the  next  in  size; 
but  the  two  latter  were  used  only  as  receiving  vessels.  The 
English  navy  in  North  America  consisted  then  of  but  five  frigates, 
with  only  one  64  ship  afloat,  vainly  confident  in  their  ability 
to  overmatcli  the  American  navy: — The  Guerriere,  the  Shannon, 
the  Spartan,  and  the  Pomone,  rated  at  38  guns  each,  the  Belvi- 
dera  36,  the  (Eolus  32,  with  a  considerable  number  of  sloops 
and  brigs  of  war.  Such  was  the  Halifax  station  force ;  designed 
to  make  captures,  not  to  fight  battles,  which  the  English  did  not 
anticipate.  The  Jamaica  station  had  but  one  ship,  the  Poly- 
phemus 64,  beyond  the  weight  of  a  frigate :  the  Leeward  Islands 
station  had  but  one  ship  of  the  line,  the  Dragon  74.  The  line 
of  battle  ships  of  England  were  not  considered  necessary  for 
America  even  in  the  event  of  war,  which  was  not  expected,  but 
only  small  vessels  for  commercial  captures,  and  the  large  ones 
were  all  more  needed  elsewhere. 


CHAP.  XI.] 


AMKRICAN    NAVY. 


367 


The  American  navy  t!ion  consisted  of  the  President,  the 
United  States,  and  the  Constitution,  (Vigates  of  the  first  class ; 
the  Congress,  Constellation,  and  Chesapeake  of  the  second  :  the 
Essex  and  Adanis  of  the  third  ;  tiio  Moston  and  New  Yori<, 
which  might  easily  have  been  got  ready  for  sea,  and  a  few  sloops, 
brigs,  and  schooners  of  war.  Eager  to  escape  to  s(!a,  before  the 
nnnourcd  determination  to  lay  them  np  in  port  could  be  effected, 
they  hurried  out  of  jiort  as  soon  as  war  was  declared,  in 
detachments,  almost  without  plan,  concert  or  orders.  'I'he  plan 
of  the  government,  if  it  liad  any  plan  then,  was  to  prevent  their 
going  to  sea  at  all,  where  inevitable  capture  was  supposed  to 
await  them. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  the  hostile  navies  when  war  began. 
Engrossed  by  her  great  European  wars,  and  not  expecting  an 
American  war,  England  had  not  a  marine  on  our  coast  equal  to 
our  own.  The  first  remarkable  exploit  of  an  American  vessel 
at  sea,  was  the  escape  of  the  frigate  Constitution,  from  a  British 
squadron,  consisting  of  the  Africa  64,  the  Shannon  and  Guer- 
riere,  the  Uelvidera  and  anoiher  small  frigate,  with  a  sloop  and 
brig  of  war.  If  the  deplorable  inclination  of  the  American 
goverimient  had  not  been  to  keep  our  navy  in  port,  if  there 
had  been  any  system  or  resolution  in  its  administration  of  that 
arm,  if  the  commanders,  instead  of  being  disconcerted  by  half- 
formed  and  miserable  schemes  of  saving  the  navy  by  keeping  it 
in  port  during  the  war — if  these  pusillanimous  notions  had  been 
discarded,  the  officers  kindly  conferred  with,  and  their  opinions 
taken,  a  blow  was  then  practicable,  which  would  have  far  out- 
done the  isolated  victories,  however  impressive,  which,  at  sea, 
saved  the  government,  the  Union,  and  the  war  from  overthrow. 
If  the  President,  the  United  States,  and  the  Constitution,  the 
Congress,  the  Constellation,  the  Chesapeake,  the  Essex,  and  the 
Adams,  had,  in  .June,  1812,  immediately  after  the  declaration  of 
war,  gone  to  sea  together,  and  encountered  the  squadron  which  in 
July  chased  the  solitary  Constitution,  unquestionably  the  English 
squadron  of  five  well-sized  ships,  would  have  engaged  the 
American  of  six  or  seven ;  and  what  must  have  been  the  issue  ? 
Though  all  the  enumerated  American  ships  were  not  then  ready 
for  sea,  they  might  and  should  have  been.  And  enough  of  them 
were  actually  at  sea  to  encounter  the  British  squadron  under 
Commodore  Broke ;  the  only  hostile  ships  at  that  time  on  the 
American  coast.  Not  one  of  our  harbours  was  blockaded.  Egress 


f:"^' 


^]\ 


368 


LORD    DARNLKY'S    MOTION. 


[JUNK,  1812. 


S 


to  si!a  was  uiiimpodcd.  A  judicious  use  of  the  American  navy, 
sucli  as  II  was,  could  not  ;  .ivc  tailed  to  strike  a  blow  at  that  of 
Croat  Hritaiu  much  more  deadly  than  those  actually  indicted. 
What  would  have  [wv.i\  the  eflect  of  Uroke's  squadron,  brought 
in  as  prizes  to  Ntnv  York  or  Hosion  ?  There  was  iio  reason  why 
it  should  not  have  been  done.  Early  demonstrations  of  the  re- 
lative condition  of  the  two  navies,  at  tliat  conjuncture,  fully 
warraiU  the  conviction  that  plan  and  confidence  in  our  own  go- 
venmicnt  were  alone  wanting  to  a  commencement  of  liostilities 
which  would  have  astounded  Great  IJritain.  The  defeat  of  the 
squadron  of  frigates  which  chased  the  Constitution,  must  have 
given  the  American  navy  conunaud  of  the  Nortli  American 
seas  during  most  of  the  summer,  the  best  cruising  season  of  the 
year  181',  till  England,  consternated  by  tlie  tidings,  could  send 
the  larger  and  more  numerous  war-vcsseis  which  did  not  arrive 
with  Admiral  Warren  till  the  autumn  of  that  year.  Mean- 
lime  it  is  impossible  to  conjecture  what  tlie  effect  would  have 
been  throughout  Europe,  especially  on  the  French  goveinment 
and  marine.  It  is  no  fond  fancy  to  infer,  from  all  the  naval 
engagements  between  American  anJ  English  ships  of  war,  the 
perfect  equipment,  discipline,  and  spirit  of  ours,  the  imperfect 
condition  and  vain-glorious  conf  dencc  of  theirs,  that  by  a  wise, 
prudent,  and  bold  disposition  of  the  naval  force  at  the  command 
of  our  government,  it  was  easier  to  gain  the  command  of 
the  coast  than  of  the  lakes.  That  ascendency  could  have  been 
indeed  but  temporary ;  but  its  intiuences  would  have  been  per- 
manent and  profound.  An  American  squadron  might  have 
blockaded  Halifax— laid  off  that  port  during  most  of  the  sum- 
mer, by  its  smaller  vessels  making  havoc  among  the  enemy's 
merchant  ships,  by  its  larger  controllii""  hostilities  for  many 
weeks,  and  then  could  have  returned  iuio  any  of  the  many  har- 
bours of  New  England  or  New  York,  where  superior  British 
force  could  not  have  molested  them. 

American  or  individual  averment,  that  if  our  government  had 
made  proper  use  of  the  naval  means  it  had  when  war  was  de- 
clared, does  not  rest  on  any  speculative  or  questionable  theory. 
It  is  proved  beyond  doubt  by  proceedings  in  Parliam'^nt.  On 
the  14th  of  May,  1813,  in  the  House  of  Lords,  the  Earl  of  Darn- 
ley  called  attention  to  British  naval  disasters,  as  he  termed  them. 
Acknowledging  that  English  vessels  had  been  taken  by  Ameri- 
can of  equal  force,  particularly  the  Peacock  by  the  Hornet,  he 


■•i 


CHAP.  XI.] 


LORD    DARNLEY'S     MOTION. 


369 


said  tliat  from  April  to  July,  1812,  there  were  on  the  Halifax 
stalioo,  uiidtT  Admiral  Sawyer,  exchisivo  of  smaller  vessels, 
only  one  ship  of  the  line  and  five  frigates.  He  did  not  name 
that  ship,  but  it  must  have  been  the  Africa  G4.  It  had  been 
said,  that  nobleman  added,  that  a  sjiHicient  force  could  not  be 
spared,  which  he  contested.  It  might  be  asserted,  he  said,  that 
the  force  already  on  the  ILilifax  station  was  equal  to  that  of  Iho 
American  navy:  but  it  had  long  be  n  a  matter  of  notoriety  that 
the  American  frigates  were  greatly  superior  in  size  and  weight 
of  metal.  War  was  declared  on  the  18th  of  June,  and  it  was 
not  till  the  I.'Uhof  October  that  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal 
were  issued.  In  all  the  unfortunate  battles  the  cause  was  the 
same,  superior  height  and  greater  weight  of  the  Americans,  by 
which  the  Knglish  ships  were  crippled  and  dismasted  early  in 
action.  Lord  Darnley's  motion  was  seconded  by  Earl  Stan- 
hope. The  Earl  of  Galloway  attributed  their  naval  disasters, 
in  the  course  of  some  professional  remarks,  very  much  to  the 
power  of  the  Americans  to  rnan  their  few  large  frigates  with 
prime  sailors,  whereas  the  great  demand  for  men  in  the  British 
navy  had  rendered  it  necessary  to  admit  a  large  proportion  of 
an  inferior  class.  He  touched  also  on  the  propensity  of  the 
British  seamen  to  desert;  and  thought  that  ships  should  be  built 
precisely  of  the  size  of  the  American  to  cope  with  them.  Lord 
JVIelville,  the  ministerial  member  of  the  admiralty,  explained 
that  a  general  opinion  prevailed  that  the  revocation  of  the  orders 
in  council  would  have  pac  lied  the  American  government.  But 
there  were  other  branches  of  the  service  to  which  the  attention 
of  the  admiralty  was  called,  besides  America;  and  the  British 
force  on  some  stations  was  no  more  than  sufficient,  the  blockad- 
ing force  in  many  places  less  than  the  force  blockaded.  It  was 
not  the  opinion  of  any  naval  officers  that  the  American  ports 
could  all  be  completely  blockaded.  The  balance  of  captures  was 
not.  Lord  Melville  said,  in  favour  of  the  Americans,  but  the  re- 
verse. The  reason  why  letters  of  marque  were  not  issued  before 
October,  was  for  the  purpose  of  knowing  the  reception  given  by 
the  Americans  to  the  English  proposals  of  accommodation. 

Lord  Darnley's  motion,  which  was  for  a  committee  to  inquire 
into  the  circmnstances  of  the  war  with  the  United  States,  more 
particularly  into  the  state,  conduct,  and  management  of  British 
naval  allairs,  as  connected  with  it,  was  further  discussed  by  Lords 
Stanhope,  Grey,  Bathurst,  Grenville,  and  Liverpool,  and  was 


fi> 


370 


AMERICAN    NAVY. 


[JULY,  1812. 


S.-?'' 


if 


It  *  > 


i   1 


refused  by  a  majority  of  only  66, 125  to  59.  The  large  minority 
showed  the  state  of  feeling  upon  the  subject.  The  various  apo- 
logies for  f^nglish  naval  defeats — what  were  they  but  verifications 
of  Nelson's  prediction  of  superior  American  seamanship? 

It  was  in  the  outset  of  the  war  dishonourable  to  our  executive, 
and  incalculably  detrimental  to  our  cause,  it  is  now  and  must  ever 
be  oppressive  to  an  American  to  recollect,  that,  if,  instead  of  paltry 
schemes  of  peace,  after  war  was  the  law,  every  nerve  had  been 
strained  to  wage  it  vigorously,  perhaps  the  power  of  Great 
Britain  in  America  might  have  been  paralyzed  for  ever.  An 
American  squadron  blockading  Halifax,  peradventure  captur- 
ing the  five  Englirh  frigates  and  one  small  fit  gun-ship  con- 
stituting the  whole  British  navy  for  several  mouths  there,  or 
anywhere  in  North  America,  would  have  been  an  achieve- 
ment to  change  the  face  of  the  world.  The  frigate  Pomone, 
which  was  one  of  Broke's  squadron  hunting  the  forlorn  Con- 
stitution, had  been  not  long  before  captured  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean by  the  Engli<fh  frigate  Active,  after  a  severe  and  pro- 
tracted conflict,  in  which  the  English  confessed  that  the  French 
fought  with  great  skill  as  well  as  courage,  under  their  brave 
Captain  Rosamel.  What  might  not  have  been  French  naval 
efforts,  with  the  large  number  of  ships  ready  for  sea,  then 
in  French,  Dutch,  and  Italian  ports,  blockaded,  as  Lord  Mel- 
ville confessed,  by  forces  inferior  to  those  blockaded— what 
might  have  been  French  assistance  to  us  by  sea,  without  alli- 
ance, if  their  attention  had  been  riveted  on  such  a  naval  revolu- 
tion as  the  capture  of  every  English  ship  of  war  in  America,  and 
their  flags  half-masted  beneath  the  star-spangled  banner,  floating 
in  the  bright  sunshine  of  the  port  of  Boston,  Newport,  New 
York,  or  Norfolk? 

British  influence,  then,  by  which  nearly  every  nerve  of  Ame- 
rican independence  was  unstrung  throughout  New  Englai.d, 
much  of  New  York  and  elsewhere,  till  it  touched  the  president 
in  his  cabinet,  prevented  his  calling  upon  France,  as  he  !-liould 
have  done,  as  the  Congress  of  the  Revolution  by  the  missions  of 
Franklin  and  Jefferson  had  done,  openly  and  avowedly  call- 
ing for  French  assistance.  That  was  not  done.  The  adminis- 
tration of  Madison  shrunk  from  it.  But  the  inveterate  itch  of 
some  of  them  for  peace  by  other  than  martial  means,  their  un- 
worthy doubt  of  American  capacity  for  war,  particularly  uith 
Great  Britain,  the  unmanly  apprehension  whicfi  they  shared  with 


CHAP.  XI.J 


GOVKRNMENT'S     ERROR. 


371 


great  numbers,  that  the  navy  was  fit  only  to  be  made  prizes, 
aUnoDt  without  a  struggle  with  the  lords  of  the  ocean,  unpardon- 
able ignorance  of  government  as  to  the  relative  force  of  the  En- 
glish and  American  navy  at  that  crisis  in  English  affairs — all  these 
fears  if  not  follies  were  the  reasons  why,  without  French  alliance 
or  assistance,  the  American  navy  was  not  allowed  and  ordered 
to  perform  what  might  have  changed  the  current  of  English  for- 
tune even  in  Europe.  The  mind  can  scarcely  grasp  the  lost  con- 
sequences of  the  mortal  blow  which  might  then  have  been  struck 
by  the  despised  American  frigates,  with  a  bit  of  striped  bunting 
•>*  their  mast-head  ?  If  the  war  of  1812  had  begun  by  even  the 
*  monstration  of  a  land  expedition  that  summer  to  Halifax,  and 
at  the  same  time  an  American  squadron  before  tliat  port,  it  is  not 
too  nmch  to  say  that  the  efl'ect  in  Europe  and  America,  would 
have  been  to  raise  the  United  States  in  two  months,  higher  than 
their  successes  in  three  years  warfare  brought  about. 

The  art  of  war  in  its  philosophy,  the  secret  of  success  in  every 
undertaking,  is  to  give  the  whole  mind  and  soul  to  its  accom- 
plishment, an  art  in  which  the  American  government  of  1812,  in 
every  branch,  was  culpably  deficient.  JNIalerially  prepared  for 
war,  it  was  not,  and  never  will  be.  That  is  a  defect,  if  it  be  one, 
which  free  institutions  must  have  always  to  make  head  against. 
But  much  as  it  was  complained  of  at  the  time,  and  is  still  recurred 
to,  it  was  by  no  means  the  principal  cause  of  the  first  year's  fail- 
ures. That  cause  was  individual,  not  inherent  in  American 
government.  More  than  half  the  expenses  incurred  :•  ;  xtrava- 
gant  loans,  most  of  the  life  expended  in  disa.strous  battles,  and 
nearly  all  the  dishonour  of  the  beginning  were  attributable,  not 
to  the  nature  of  the  government,  but  members  of  it,  in  the  exe- 
cutive and  legislature,  clinging  to  hopes  of  pCv.'? ,  dreading  the 
personal,  political  and  })arly  ell'ects  of  war,  to  unfounded  and  un- 
worthy distrust  of  the  institutions  and  people  of  the  United  States. 
Mr.  Madison  cannot  be  entirely  exonerated,  though  he  was  the 
least  to  blame,  and  redeemed  inaptitude  for  martial  atlairs,  by 
great  virtues  for  a  belligerent  chief-magistrate  in  a  republic  of 
written  and  limited  authority.  But  other  members  of  the  exe- 
cutive, if  not  guilty  of  dereliction  of  duty,  were  extremely  remiss 
in  performance  of  it :  one,  in  particular,  who  should  have  retired, 
(and  perhapfi  would,  but  for  the  president's  strong  attachment  to 
huM,)  in  his  misjudgmcnt  respecting  the  navy  was  barely  pre- 


\ 

J!  '  1 


I 

f^  * '  '  it 


372 


DISTRUST    OF    NAVY. 


[1812. 


vented  committing  an  error  which  no  Russian  mediation  could 
have  atoned  for. 

Tile  American  government  in  all  its  branches,  was  incredibly 
ignorant  of  the  naval  capacity  of  the  country,  and  grossly  negli- 
gent of  nearly  everything  that  might  and  should  have  been 
known  and  done  with  that  arm  :  ignorance  and  incapacity,  the  re- 
sult of  long  and  ignominious  peace,  and  of  impracticable  schemes 
to  redress  national  wrongs  without  hostilities.  In  excuse  for  the 
government,  it  must  be  owned  that  the  well  nigh  universal  senti- 
ment of  .the  mercantile  and  seafaring  community,  was  disbelief 
in  the  ability  of  the  navy,  in  fact  of  the  country,  to  contend  in 
arms  with  Great  Britain,  which,  at  sea,  was  considered  impossible. 
Dreams  of  perpetual  peace  had  produced  systems  of  self-denial,  by 
restrictive  measures,  more  trying  and  more  costly  than  war.  The 
navy  had  been  discountenanced, till  at  last,  when  war  came,  which 
like  death,  is  inevitable,  to  such  a  degree  of  intatuation  had  p\isii- 
lanimity  of  both  government  and  the  commercial  portion  of  the 
community  gone,  and  so  omnipoieiit  was  British  influence  in  the 
United  States,  that  it  was  the  fatal  design  of  tlie  exe  nilive  to  keep 
the  navy  in  port,  as  harbour  defences,  to  disinantl.    and  degrade 


the  frigates  below  the  much  abused  gun  boats. 


the  Chesa- 


peake, the  Delaware,  the  Hudson,  and  wherever  they  were  used 
during  the  war,  they  proved,  that  even  lor  ha'bour  and  coast 
service,  they  were,  at  least  till  the  discovery  of  steam  boats,  ser- 
viceable craft.  Jefferson,  a  man  of  genius  and  of  peace,  was  bent 
on  avoiding  war,  at  almost  any  cost ;  and  Congress  is  always 
much  influenced  by  an  executive  more  durable  than  Congress, 
though  endowed  with  less  legal  attribute  of  power.  Mr.  Gal- 
latin openly  opposed  the  war  before  it  was  declared,  deprecated 
it  afterwards, continually  importuned  peace  by  other  than  bellige- 
rent efforts,  and  persevered  till  peace  was  patched  up  in  Europe. 
His  impolitic  exertions  to  palsy  hostilities,  which,  waged  as  they 
miglit  and  would  have  been,  if  he  had  been  secretary  either  of  war 
or  the  navy,  or  the  treasury,  with  his  heart  and  mind  enlisted  in 
its  cause,  would  have  probably  made  not  only  much  better  war, 
but  a  better  peace.  If  the  American  people  and  institutions  had 
not  proved  stronger  than  he  seemed  to  think  them,  a  martial  and 
high-spirited  nation  might  have  been  constrained  by  niisgovcrn- 
ment  to  submit,  alter  inglorious  failure  in  war,  to  a  dishonourable 
peace,  which  could  have  been  no  better  than  a  mere  truce,  to  be 


CHAP.  XI.] 


FALSE     HOPES     AN'D     FEARS. 


373 


broken  after  further  and  further  dogradalion.  The  Un.tod  States 
HMist  have  renewed  hostilitie.s  under  more  disadvantages  than 
ever.  To  their  great  enemy  are  they  indebted  for  the  benefi's  of 
that  war.  But  for  the  severity  of  a  struggle  which  forced  out 
tlie  spirit  and  resources  of  the  country,  Russian  mediations  and 
peace  wilFiout  a  single  principle  in  controversy  settled  at  Ghent, 
where  neither  the  final  victories  nor  the  lofty  feelings  they  gave  rise 
to  throughout  the  United  States,  were  appreciated,  in  fact  hardly 
known — such  a  peace  would  iiave  been  but  a  truce,  a  mere  cessa- 
tion from  hostilities.  Victories  by  land  and  sea,  in  Canada  and 
Louisiana,  on  the  lakes,  everywhere  except  Washington,  where 
the  anti-war  hope  still  lingered  and  uiuicrved  us,  victories  were 
the  negotiators  of  a  pacitication,  which  has  endured  and  im|)roved 
ever  since,  for  more  f'^"n  the  succeeding  third  of  a  century.  With- 
out the  exertions,  trials  and  triumphs,  which  that  fallacious  hope 
was  as  perseveringly,  as  unwisely  labouring  to  prevent,  another 
war,  peradventure  civil  war,  protracted,  disorganizing,  desperate, 
was  the  alternative,  with  almost  inevitable  dismemberment  of  the 
Union.  Extremes  of  speculative  policy  are  dangerous  experi- 
ments. The  love  of  peace  which  Franklin  and  Jefl'ersou  brouglit 
home  from  Europe,  may  degenerate  to  a  prejudice,  to  intoxicate  a 
disciple  so  superior  as  Mr.  (Jallatin,of  whom  such,  was  Jetler.son's 
high  estimate, that  he  said  he  should  not  be  measured  by  the  stand- 
ard applied  to  other  men.  Perpetual  war,  ])assioii  for  war  was  the 
'ji)nglish  extravagance  which  unhinged  her  naval  supremacy,  by 
driving  from  the  ocean  all  ships  but  those  of  a  distant  and  lucre- 
loving  people,  not,  as  she  thought,  to  be  feared  at  sea.  Extravagant 
sacrifice  to  peace  was  the  American's  error,  as  every  excess  is  an 
error.  Wanton  and  frequent  war  was  a  royal  passion,  which  Ame- 
rican republican  apostles  wisely  repudiated.  When  the  United 
States  were  but  breathing  into  national  consistence  in  1793,  Wash- 
ington's proclamation  of  neutrality  was  an  indispensable  refuge. 
From  1805,  when  the  maritime  outrages  of  the  great  belligerents 
began,  till  tlie  seizure  of  the  frigate  Chesapeake  in  our  own  waters, 
it  was  right  to  exhaust  argument  and  remonstrance,  before  the  last 
resort.  But  forbearance  had  ceased  to  be  a  virtue  some  time  be- 
fore war  was  at  length  declared.  An  unwise,  unworthy  tame- 
ness  was  undermining  public  spirit,  and  some  of  the  inveterate 
opponents  of  war  had  much  national  distress  and  dishonour  to 
answer  for.     Mr.  Gallatin's  party  assailants  unjustly  imputed 

VOL.  I. — 32 


Yqa:   -.-.It    .,« 
■•r-,'f»  ,; 


374 


MR.    GALLATIN. 


[JUNE,  1812. 


■•  %fi. 


to  him  cunning  and  dissimulation.  He  was  open  and  explicit 
ni  opposing  war.  If  his  aversion  to  it  had  yielded  when  the 
declaration  was  enacted,  and  he  had  then  thought  proper  to 
\v  ithdraw  his  great  talents  and  experience  from  a  war  adminis- 
tration, no  blame  could  have  attached  to  him.  But  he  chose,  no 
doubt  was  urged  by  Madison,  who  highly  valued  his  patriotism 
and  usefulneio,  to  bestow  them,  not  where  most  needed,  in 
strengthening  the  financial  department ;  but  turning  his  back  on 
that,  where  he  might  have  been  of  great  importance,  leaving  it 
deserted  and  desolate,  he  went  abroad  upon  a  fruitless  errand, 
which  did  not  abridge  one  hour  of  war,  nor  add  one  valuable 
clause  to  a  precipitated  treaty  of  peace.  In  the  spring  of  1813, 
when  Mr.  Gallatin  went  to  Europe,  my  official  acquaintance 
began  with  the  operations  of  that  conjuncture.  What  took  place 
the  year  before,  having  none  but  public  knowledge  of,  I  do  not 
venture  judgment  on  that  gentleman's  agency  in  imputed  post- 
ponement of  taxation,  reliance  on  mere  loans  unsecured,  or  other 
deficiencies  of  preparation  which  added  a  year  of  disastrous  out- 
set to  hostilities  before  they  really  began  in  earnest  in  1813. 
Madison  abhorred  war  as  much  as  Mr.  Gallatin  could,  and  felt 
with  inborn  diffidence  his  own  want  of  those  qualities  most  fit 
for  it.  But  he  yielded,  wisely  and  conscientiously,  to  overruling 
circumstances,  when  war  became  the  law  of  the  United  States, 
and,  while  always  anxious  for  peace,  from  first  to  last  waged 
war  to  the  best  of  his  ability  with  a  true  American  spirit. 

Mr.  Gallatin,  long  a  leading  member  of  two  successful  admi- 
nistrations, satisfied  himself  that  the  only  safety  for  the  navy 
would  be  in  port,  and  its  only  utility  as  harbour  defence,  parti- 
cularly at  New  York,  an  attack  on  which  place  was  appre- 
hended without  any  foundation  for  the  fear.  With  the  mer- 
chants of  New  York,  Mr.  Gallatin,  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
had  been  much  conne,  ed.  Their  mistaken  if  not  foreign  dis- 
quiet infected  him.  The  frigates  were  ^o  be  laid  up  there  as 
harbour  guards,  buried  alive  in  a  dismantlement  which  would 
have  superadded  to  the  preliminary  reverses  of  the  war  by  land, 
privation  of  the  only  relief  and  rescue  the  government  and 
coun'ry  experienced.  When  a  wise  and  vigorous  disposition 
of  the  naval  means  at  the  command  of  our  'government,  might 
have  swept  the  American  coast  from  the  Balizo  to  the  Bay  of 
Fundy  of  all  the  British  marine,  military  and  commercial,  it  is 


CHAP.  XL] 


BAINBRIDGE    AND    STEWART. 


375 


an  instructive  lesson  of  the  short-sightedness  of  wise  men  that  it 
was  mere  remonstrance  of  a  couple  of  naval  officers  against 
being  deprived  of  their  livelihood,  which  prevented  the  flag  so 
gloriously  triumphant  in  every  sea,  from  being  veiled  before  that 
of  Gre^t  Britain,  without  an  essay  or  effort  to  establish  the  high 
character  it  won  for  the  Ameriran  navy,  with  long  and  pros- 
perous tranquillity  for  the  United  States.  The  young  states- 
men, Clay,  Lowndes,  Cheves,  Calhoun,  Peter  B.  Porter,  Troup, 
Bibb,  Grundy,  and  their  associates,  who  made  the  war,  were 
fortunately  seconded  by  officers  of  the  navy,  who  entreated  to 
be  permitted  to  carry  it  on,  or  a  war  for  maritime  redress  would 
have  been  attempted  without  a  naval  effort,  by  a  nation  which 
had  always  proved  that  the  sea  is  not  the  exclusive  domain  of 
Great  Britain,  but  its  uses  and  honours  are  to  be  shared  by  the 
American  Republic.  Hostilities  by  land,  which,  for  more  than 
a  year  and  a  half  were  continually  unfortunate ;  and  privateers 
on  the  ocean,  preying  on  British  commerce,  but  flying  from  ships 
of  war,  would  have  been  the  only  belligerent  means  of  this  coun- 
try in  that  contest,  but  for  one  of  those  insignificant  occurrences 
which  are  often  decisive  of  the  fate  and  character  of  nations. 
Our  rescue  from  that  naval  trance  is  imperfectly  mentioned  in 
Dr.  Harris's  Life  of  Bainbridge,  in  a  published  memoir  of  the 
life  of  Commodore  Stewart,  summarily,  though  accurately,  in 
Goldsborough's  Naval  Chronicle  and  Cooper's  Naval  History  ; 
but  deserves  fuller  narrative  as  one  of  the  fortunately  prevented 
most  deplorable  and  incredible  mistakes  of  the  war. 

The  facts  are  ihese.  As  soon  as  war  was  declared  Captains 
Bainbridge  and  Stewart  went  to  Washington  to  solicit  commands. 
The  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  appointed,  as  too  many  of  the  hes'^"' 
of  that  most  important  and  least  difficult  of  all  our  departments 
have  been,  from  views  rather  to  sectional,  state,  party,  or  other 
than  personal  aptitude,  was  Paul  Hamilton,  of  South  Carolina, 
a  gentleman  who  had  been  governor  of  that  gallant  common- 
wealth, and  was  well  disposed  for  the  credit  of  the  navy,  but 
without  any  knowledge  of  maritime  affairs,  and  otherwise  unfit 
foe  his  station,  Bainbridge  and  Hull  first  learned  at  Washington 
from  Charles  Goldsborough,  chief-clerk  of  the  navy  department,  to 
their  infinite  amazement,  disappointment,  and  chagrin.^  that  it  had 
been  resolved  to  keep  the  national  ships  safe  in  port,  and  not  to 
expose  them  to  unavoidable  capture  and  probable  disgrace  at  sea. 


nAINBRIDGE    AND    STEWART. 


[JUNE,  1G12. 


5'.;  ■    ''X  . 


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Go;  '^u  'oiigh  showed  them  the  order  to  that  effect,  which  he 
was  ■;  -ng  hy  direction  of  his  superior.  Either  by  design 
or  a  .  variy  the  whole  navy  was  in  port  or  near  at  hand 

at  tl.e  momeiH:  only  the  sloop  Wasp,  Captain  Jones,  abroad,  on 
herri^turn  froni  England  with  some  of  those  dispatches  so  much 
more  anxiously  looked  after  than  any  warlike  preparation  or 
plan.  Rodgersin  the  frigate  President,  with  Porter  in  the  Essex, 
and  Lawrence  in  the  Hornet,  were  lying  at  new  York  ready  to 
sail.  Decatur  in  the  United  States,  Smith  in  the  Congress,  Sin- 
clair in  the  Argus^  from  the  south,  joined  Rodgers's  squadron  in 
New  York  Bay,  the  21st  June,  1812,  three  days  after  war  was 
declared.  The  Nautilus,  Lieutenant  Crane,  arrived  there  soon 
after,  but  was  captured  as  soon  as  she  went  to  sea  alone,  destined 
for  a  cruise  in  the  West  Indies.  Rodgers'  squadron  sailed  the 
21st  June,  on  a  cruise  to  the  soufli-east,  in  search  of  a  reported 
fleet  of  English  merchantmen.  Eager  as  our  ships  of  war  were 
to  get  to  sea,  not  only  to  measure  strength  with  tlie  English,  but 
to  escape  th.e  confinement  in  port,  rumoured  and  apprehended 
from  their  own  government ;  sailing,  therefore,  almost  without 
plan  or  definite  object,  it  is  not,  perhaps,  surprising  that  they  did 
not  seem  to  know  their  own  power,  if  combined  as  before  men- 
tioned, to  overcome  any  hostile  vessels  to  be  encountered  in  the 
American  seas.  The  frigate  Constitution  was  alone  at  Annapolis, 
whence  she  proceed'^d  to  sea  on  the  12th  July,  1812,  on  her  way 
to  New  York.  Her  chase  by  the  English  squadron  from  which 
she  miraculously  escaped,  putting  into  Boston  in  consequence 
of  being  prevented  by  that  squadron  from  going  to  New  York. 
whither  she  was  bound.  Captain  Hull's  sailing  in  her  from  Bos- 
ton before  orders  reached  him  to  leave  her  and  take  command  of 
another  frigate,  his  capture  of  the  Guerriere,  in  spite  of  all  ♦he 
Navy  Department  could  do  to  prevent  that  victory,  are  the  dra- 
matic incidents  of  a  beginning  of  naval  triumphs  for  which  the 
country  owes  everythitigto  the  navy  and  nothing  to  government, 
excepting  the  president,  who  always  listened  to  reason ;  and  in 
the  narrative  of  tiiose  transactions  it  is  due  to  Mr.  Hamilton, 
Secretary  of  the  Navy,  to  add  that  he  was,  at  any  rate,  well 
disposed  to  venture  a  trial  which  at  least  one  of  his  colleagues 
resisted  as  too  d(\sperate  to  be  attempted. 

Bainbridize  and  Stewart  remonstrated  with  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  against  its  suicide,  by  the  hands  of  its  own  commander- 


CHAP.  XI.] 


NAVY    TO    BE    LAID    UP. 


377 


in-chief.  The  secretary  listened  kindly  to  their  appeal,  but  told 
them  that  the  thing  had  been  settled,  on  full  consideration,  in 
cabinet  council.  The  frigates  were  to  be  laid  up  in  the  harbour 
of  New  York,  their  guns  taken  out  of  one  side,  the  other  side  to 
be  so  fixed  as  to  be  rendered  water-batteries,  to  be  manned  by 
their  crews,  and  commanded  by  their  own  officers,  Stewart  and 
Bainbridge  explained  to  the  secretary  why  they  were  convinced 
our  ships  were  superior  to  the  English,  and  would  eight  times 
out  of  ten,  capture  them  in  equal  combat.  They  were  so  urgent, 
that  the  secretary,  unable,  indeed  not  inclined,  to  refute  their 
arguments,  offered  to  take  these  gentlemen  with  him  to  the  pre- 
sidential mansion,  there  to  repeat  what  was  deemed  so  clear  and 
so  important.  Mr.  Madison  listened  with  the  greatest  attention 
to  all  they  had  to  say;  candidly  and  anxiously  weighed  it.  Eight 
times  out  of  ten,  sir,  said  they,  with  equal  force  we  can  hardly 
fail ;  our  men  are  better  men,  better  disciplined,  our  midshipmen 
are  not  mere  boys,  only  fit  to  carry  orders,  but  young  men, 
capable  of  reflection  and  action.  Our  guns  are  sighted,  which 
is  an  improvement  of  our  own  the  English  know  nothing  of. 
While  we  can  fire  cannon,  with  as  sure  an  aim  as  musketry  or 
almost  rifles,  striking  twice,  out  of  every  three  shots,  they  must 
fire  at  random,  without  sight  of  their  object  or  regard  to  the 
undulations  of  the  sea,  shooting  over  our  heads,  seldom  hulling 
us,  or  even  hitting  our  decks.  We  may  be  captured,  and  pro- 
bably shall  be,  even  after  taking  prizes  from  them,  because  their 
numbers  are  so  much  greater  than  ours.  But  the  American  flag 
will  never  be  dishonoured,  seldom,  if  ever,  struck  to  equal  force. 
The  nation  can  lose  nothing  but  vessels,  and  a  few  lives  dearly 
sold.  You  will  give  us  victories  then,  you  think,  said  the  presi- 
dent, inclining  to  their  advice.  We  do,  sir,  most  confidently,  and 
not  upon  irrational  premises.  Which  victories,  he  added  with 
animation,  will  give  us  ships;  for  with  victories  Congress  will 
supply  them  faster  than  they  can  be  lost.  Such,  too,  said  he, 
recurring  to  the  lessons  of  the  Revolution,  was  the  case  in  that 
war,  wlien,  notwithstanding  a  greater  disparity  of  force  than 
now,  and  much  greater  disparity  of  all  nautical  equipments,  our 
officers  and  men  prox^ed  themselves  equal  to  the  English.  En- 
couraged by  this  reception,  Bainbridge  and  Stewart  persevered 
so  strenuously  w^ith  Mr.  Hamilton  in  another  interview  with 
him,  that  he  told  them  the  president  had  resolved  to  hold  a 

32* 


r,;«*>Ji,!... 


■('■■J 

lift  ■; 


378 


NAVY    TO    HE    LAID    I'P. 


[JUNE,  1812, 


cabinet  council  tlirtt  evening  to  reconsider  the  matter,  and  tlu>y 
Avere  desired  to  come  to  the  t^retary's  residence  and  wait  liere 
till  he  retinned  iVoin  the  council  to  apprize  them  of  the  K'-ult. 
At  a  liU'!  Iiour  he  did  so,  informing  them  that  no  change  had 
taken  place,  but  the  vessels  were  to  he  laid  up  and  used  as  har- 
bour defences.  Mr.  Gadatin  was  inflexible  against  sending  the 
ships  to  sea,  with  all  his  preponderant  influence  in  the  adi.iinis- 
tration  where  ho  h;id  been  accustomed  to  rule  by  Jeflersoii's  high 
estimate  of  his  abilities  for  any  subject,  naval,  military,  fman- 
cial,  conmiercial,  foreign,  or  domestic;  and  Mr.  Gallatin's  mis- 
take was  that  of  nearly  the  whole  community.  The  merchants', 
almost  to  a  man,  laboured  under  absurd  impressions  of  English 
nautical  supremacy,  pervading  the  sea-ports  and  most  of  the 
Atlantic  states,  that  it  was  not  only  in  the  greater  munber  of 
ships  and  seamen  the  English  excelled  the  Americans,  but  that 
British  seamen  were  superior  beings,  transcending  all  others, 
with  whom  Americans,  man  to  man,  and  ship  to  ship,  still  less 
in  squadrons  or  fleets,  would  have  less  chance  than  the  Dutch, 
Venetians,  Spanish,  or  French.  In  the  most  popular  national 
song  of  that  day,  which  was  always  sung  in  full  chorus  at  the 
repeated  celebrations  of  our  naval  victories,  not  only  the  prepos- 
terous iMnguage,  br.t,  t'le  deep-rooted  sentiment  of  the  inhabitants 
of  our  seaboard  'Viis,  tliat  although  the  "sons  of  Columbia  would 
never  be  slaves,  v;hj!e  the  earth  bears  a  plant  or  the  sea  rolls  its 
waves,"  yet  "  the  trident  of  Neptune  must  never  be  hurled  to 
incense  the  legitimate  powers  of  the  ocean."  Those  legitimate 
powers  by  divine  right,  and  that  popular  prejudice  which  is  the 
basis  of  that  right,  were  the  English  ntariners,  against  whom, 
the  judgment  of  at  least  the  maritime  portions  of  the  United 
States,  coinciding  with  that  of  Mr.  Gallatin,  was,  that  in  a  war 
undertaken  for  the  redress  of  Ikigrant  wrongs  by  sea,  it  would 
be  folly  to  trust  either  a  vessel  or  a  man  there,  except  in  the 
predatory  and  irresponsible  cruises  of  private  armed  vessels. 
To  sucfh  adventures  Bainbridge  and  Stewart  resolved  to  have 
recourse  if  their  prayer  for  permission  to  take  public  ships  of 
war  to  sea  should  be  unheeded.  Stewart  had  I  uilt  a  privateer 
called  the  Snapper,  eventually  commanded  by  Captain  Pere- 
grine Green,  and  captured  as  soon  as  she  cleared  the  Delaware 
capes.  Ill  that  privateer,  if  denied  authority  to  go  forth  in  fri- 
gates, these  gentlemen  proposed  to  seek  their  fortunes  on  the 


CHAP.  XI.] 


N.WY    TO    r.n    TO    SEA. 


379 


ocean,  serving  each  in  rotation  as  captain  or  first  ofliccr.  It  wos 
not  with  them,  tlierefore,  matter  oCmere  national  character:  nor 
were  they  mere  youths  to  be  moved  entirely  by  pnerile  or  unself- 
ish considerations.  They  wanted  fortune  as  well  as  fame,  liveli- 
hood besides  distinction.  If  the  navy  was  laid  up  they  saw  their 
occupation  goii  for  all  advancement  and  all  acquisition.  Im- 
pelled by  these  strong  motives  to  sturdy  remonstrauce,  persever- 
ing after  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  had  aniin"iw..(i  (,,  them  the 
confirmed  resolve  of  the  executive  to  ordci  hips  of  war 

to  be  laid  up,  Captains  liainbridge  and  Sti  pied  most 

of  that  night  in  composing  a  joint  letter  to  tl  ,,i;trongly 

setting  forth  reasons  why  that  resolve  should  ..acuuled.  That 
letter  has  been  lost,  perhaps  burnt  in  the  coutlagration  of  the 
public  buildings  at  Washington ;  possibly  not  deemed  proper  for 
the  public  eye,  as  it  stated  advantages  of  the  American  navy, 
which,  though  now  known  to  and  participated  by  the  English, 
were  then  exclusively  American.  Among  these  were  not  only 
the  superior  disciplitie,  seamanship,  and  ardour  of  our  seamen, 
burning  with  passion  to  take  vengeance  for  oppression,  but  seve- 
ral material  improvements,  one  of  which  alone  proved  decisive 
in  the  naval  engagements  of  that  war. 

Their  joint  composition  of  that  anxious  night  was  couched  in 
such  plain  language,  that,  when  presented  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy  next  morning,  he  objected  to  it  as  too  strong  for  communi- 
cation to  the  chief  magistrate,  and  advised  them  to  soften  its 
terms,  liut  as  it  was  with  them  an  affair  of  subsistence,  involv- 
ing livelihood  as  well  as  reputation,  they  insisted  on  its  being 
submitted  without  alteration.  Ditfident  as  Madison  was  of  his 
owji  judgment  at  all  times,  especially  where  he  was  not  familiar 
with  the  subject,  and  having  long  felt  Mr.  Gallatin's  aptitude  for 
almost  any  subject,  the  president  was  the  man  of  his  own  admi- 
nistration, nevertheless,  most  resolved,  as  in  duty  bound,  to  carry 
into  full  effect  the  act  of  Congress  declaring  war.  After,  there- 
fore, candidly,  wisely,  and  ingenuously  weighing  the  manly  re- 
monstrance against  his  own  deliberate  and  twice  considered 
determination,  he  yielded  to  the  wishes  of  the  two  captains,  who 
were  told  in  another  interview  the  same  day,  by  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  likewise  gratified  with  the  result,  that  the  president 
would  assume  the  responsibility  of  over-ruling  the  judgment  of 
his  cabinet  and  ordering  the  ships  to  sea. 


fmg. 


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380 


HULL'S    ORDERS. 


[JUNE,  1812. 


It  cannot  be  shown  that  an  order  to  lay  up  the  frigates  in  har- 
bour was  given  by  the  executive  :  but  it  is  certain  that  such  a 
determination  was  formed,  and  instructions  imparted  for  the 
order,  which  was  prevented  merely  by  the  timely  remonstrance 
of  Bainbridge  and  Stewart.  To  risk  the  ships  of  war  at  sea 
was  more  than  government  thought  wise.  And  the  first  capture 
of  an  English  by  an  American  frigate,  an  event  the  effect  of 
which  was  prodigious  throughout  Europe  and  America,  and 
may  have  consequences  of  still  greater  magnitude  than  yet  expe- 
rienced— that  capture  was  made,  if  not  in  breach  oi  orders,  at 
least  contrary  to  the  timorous  calculations  of  the  navy  depart- 
ment. If  Hull  had  not  hastened  to  sea  and  taken  the  Guerriere 
before  his  countermand  reached  him  at  Boston,  he  would  not 
have  made  that  capture,  if  indeed  any  such  would  ever  have 
been  made  at  all. 

The  order  to  Captain  Hull  was  as  follows : — 


■*-H 


«  Navy  Department,  ; 
ISthJune,  1813. 
«  Sir  :  This  day  war  has  been  declared  between  the  <  United 
Empire  of  Great  Britain,  Ireland,  and  their  dependencies,  and 
the  United  States  of  America  and  their  territories,'  and  you  are, 
with  the  force  under  your  command,  entitled  to  every  belligerent 
right  to  attack  and  capture,  and  to  defend.  You  will  use  the 
utmost  dispatch  to  reach  New  York,  after  you  have  made  up 
your  complement  of  men,  &c.,at  Annapolis.  In  your  way  from 
thence  you  will  not  fail  to  notice  the  Britib'.  flag,  should  it  present 
itself.  I  am  informed  that  the  Belvideia  is  on  our  coast,  but  you 
are  not  to  understand  me  as  impelling  you  to  battle  previously 
to  your  having  confidence  in  your  crew,  unless  attacked,  or  with 
a  reasonable  prospect  of  success,  of  which  you  are  to  be,  at 
your  discretion,  the  judgo.  You  are  to  reply  to  this,  and  inform 
me  of  your  progress. 

"  I  am,  respectfully, 

«  Yr.  obt.  svt., 

«P.  HAMILTON. 
"  Captain  Hull,  of  the  U.  S.  Frigate  Constitution, 
*^jlnnapolis,  Md." 

That  discouraging  and,  (considered  with  immediate  results,) 


4l( 


rUNE,  1812. 

Bs  in  har- 
at  such  a 
I  for  the 
onstrance 
ar  at  sea 
3t  capture 
effect  of 
irica,  and 
yet  expe- 
orders,  at 
ry  depart- 
Guerriere 
irould  not 
iver  liave 


[ENT,7 

13.     3 

le  <  United 
iicies,  and 
i  you  are, 
jelligerent 
II  use  the 

made  up 
way  from 

it  present 
t,  but  you 
previously 
d,  or  with 

to  be,  at 
nd  inform 


LTON. 
n. 


e  results,) 


CHAP.  XI.] 


HULL'S    ORDERS. 


381 


incredibly  pusillanimous  order,  was  soon  followed  by  another,  as 
follows,  of  the  same  tenour : — 

"Navy  Department,^ 
«3rf  J«/^,  1812.     3 
"  Sir  :  As  soon  as  the  Constitution  is  ready  for  sea,  you  will 
weigh  anchor  and  proceed  to  New  York. 

"  If,  on  your  way  thither,  you  should  fall  in  with  an  enemy's 
vessel,  you  will  be  guided  in  your  proceeding  by  your  own  judg- 
ment, bearing  ill  mind,  however,  that  you  are  not,  voluntarily,  to 
encounter  a  force  superior  to  your  own.  On  your  arrival  at  New 
York,  you  will  report  yourself  to  Commodore  Rodgers.  If  he 
should  not  be  in  that  port,  you  will  remaii .  there  till  further 
orders. 

"  I  am,  &c., 

"P.  HAMILTON. 
"Captain  Isaac  Hull, 
^^^innapolis,  Md." 

Thus  was  Captain  Hull,  the  navy,  the  country,  and  the  war, 
indebted  to  the  accidental  chase  of  the  Constitution  by  a  British 
squadron,  preventing  her  getting  into  New  York,  for  her  being 
driven  into  lioston,  and  thence  stealing  to  sea,  when  to  be  laid 
up  in  New  York.  On  the  2d  August  Hull  sailed  from  Boston,  in 
the  Constitution,  and  did  not  receive  the  following  letter  till  after 
his  return  from  capturing  the  Guerriere: — 

"  Navy  Dep^vrtment, 
"28M  Jt</y,  1812. 
"Captain  Isaac  Hitll: — 

"  On  the  arrival  of  the  Constitution  in  port,  I  have  ordered 
Commodore  Bainbridge  to  take  command  of  her. 

"  You  will  accordingly  deliver  up  to  him  the  command  and 
proceed  to  this  place  and  assume  the  command  of  the  Frigate 
Constellation. 

"  I  am,  &c., 

"P.  HAMILTON." 

Before  he  received  that  order  or  sailed,  Hull  sent  to  the  Secre- 


. « ■ 


Mm 


hi'  '    I'' 

1 : ■**  %, : 


Si     K    '■■■ 


^^i:. 


382 


NAVY    AT    SEA. 


[JUNE.,  1812. 


tary  an  account  of  the  Constitution's  escape  from  Broke's  squad- 
ron, to  which  the  following  was  the  official  reply  : — 

"  Navy  Department,  } 
"  2i)lh  July,  1812.     3 
"  Captain  Isaac  Hull,  Boston  : — 

"  Your  letter  of  the  20th  inst.,  just  received,  has  relieved  me 
from  much  anxiety. 

"  I  am  truly  happy  to  hear  of  your  safety.    Remain  at  Boston 
until  further  orders. 

"I  am,  &c., 

«P.  HAMILTON." 


%  ■'#-' 


Under  such  discouraging,  perplexing  and  timid  nursing  did 
American  naval  ardour  then  lie  almost  stifled.  A  series  of  mere 
accidental  circumstances,  so  trivial  that  they  cannot  fail  to  suggest 
to  the  least  thoughtful  mind,  the  extreme  uncertainty  of  the  little 
occurrences  on  which  great  events  depend,  enabled  Hull  to  escape 
the  doom  which  an  affrighted  government  had  prepared  for  him 
and  all  his  naval  comrades. 

With  retraction  of  the  order  to  keep  the  ships  in  port,  Captain 
Stewart  got  an  order  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  with  which, 
leaving  Bainbridge  behind  him  at  Washington,  Stewart  has- 
tened toward  New  York,  taking  Lieutenant  now  Commodore 
Ridgely  along,  to  go  to  sea  with  one  of  the  smaller  vessels,  and 
scour  the  West  India  seas  before  the  English  were  aware  of  the 
war,  or  could  protect  their  large  comm  in  that  quarter  from 
the  mischief  Stewart  contemplated.  Mc.  .le,  before  he  reached 
Philadelphia,  then  a  two  days'  jj^iuaey  irom  Washington,  news 
had  reached  the  former  place  that  Rodgers  had  gone  to  sea  with 
all  the  vessels,  except  the  few  otherwise  disposed  of.  The  Con- 
stitution sailed  from  Annapolis  for  New  York  early  in  July,  and 
was  chased  off  by  a  British  squadron,  from  her  prescribed  port — 
eventually  chased  to  all  the  fortunes  of  that  gallant  frigate,  which, 
during  half  a  century,  has  always  been  victorious  under  various 
commanders,  and  in  every  sea.  Fears  of  the  wise,  would  have 
laid  her  down  to  rot  in  ignominious  inactivity.  Importunity 
overcame  cabinet  deliberation  which  might  have  brought  the 
war  to  an  end,  with  nothing  but  defeats  by  land,  without  one 


CHAP.  XI.] 


CONSTITUTION    CHASED. 


383 


redeeming  triumph  on  the  water.  If  so,  the  administration  must 
have  been  borne  down  by  overpowering  opposition  and  its  own 
incapacity,  the  war  spirit  discouraged,  the  war  party  overthrown, 
Congress  either  not  called  together  at  all  till  December,  instead 
of  being  convoked  in  extraordinary  session  in  May,  1813,  and  in 
December,  not  to  vote  taxes  for  vigorous  prosecution  of  hostili- 
ties, but  to  ratify  dishonourable  peace.  For  both  governments 
throughout  the  year  1812,  were  anxious  for  peace,  rather  than 
persevere  in  war,  which  too  many, "  like  two  of  the  commis- 
sioners who  negotiated  peace,  considered  could  do  no  good  to 
either  nation,  but  must  do  harm  to  both." 

Before  a  battle  came  to  our  relief,  to  dispel  the  misapprehen- 
sions of  all  save  the  navy  itself,  before  one  blow  was  struck,  naval 
confidence  was  justified  by  an  exploit  which  has  never  yet  been 
regarded  as  it  ought  to  be  in  the  comparison  of  American  with 
English  nautical  aptitude.  When  the  Constitution  was  chased 
in  July  1812,  by  five  frigates,  and  escaped  them  without  superior 
swiftness,by  the  contrivance  which  her  first  lieutenant,  now  Com- 
modore Morris,  suggested  to  Captain  Hull,  Mr.  Cooper,  whose 
naval  judgment  it  may  be  rash  to  contradict,  awards  applause  to 
the  seamanship  of  the  English  pursuers  as  well  as  that  of  the 
American  fugitive.  Yet  is  it  not  palpable  to  any  reflection  that 
the  enemy  would  have  overtaken  and  captured  our  frigate,  if  not 
inferior  in  the  fertility  of  resource  and  felicity  of  contrivance, 
which  are  part  of  the  genius  for  all  warfare,  and  throughout  the 
war  of  1812,  seldom  were  displayed,  any  more  than  bold  enter- 
prise, by  the  British  navy  ?  The  little  vessel  in  which  Lieutenant, 
now  Commodore  Crane  put  to  sea  was  taken  by  the  enemy,  and 
then  a  prize  to  Broke's  squadron,  on  board  of  which  Crane  was 
a  prisoner.  Such  was  the  eagerness  of  the  English  to  overhaul 
the  Constitution,  that  at  one  time  they  all  cut  all  their  boats 
adrift  as  they  were  kedging  in  pursuit,  after  the  American  fri- 
gate's manner  of  going  ahead.  But  was  there  anything  to  pre- 
vent their  putting  the  small  prize  with  them,  the  Nautilus,  in  tow 
of  all  the  boats  in  the  whole  squadron,  and  so  forcing  the  Nautilus 
ahead  of  the  Constitution  or  alongside  of  her  at  such  a  distance 
as  to  enable  the  guns  of  the  small  vessel  to  drive  in  the  boats 
of  the  Constitution,  when  the  British  frigates  might  readily  have 
overtaken  and  reduced  her?  In  the  first  essay  of  conflict  there 
was,  independent  of  superior  gunnery  and  navigation,  evidence 


it**.:;- 


ml'':* 


f;!>- 


P^;:^:- 

!»*■'..*•:.- 


■'.«•«  ■ 


384 


NAVAL    CONFIDENCE. 


[JUNE,  1812. 


of  that  superiority  of  talent  which,  without  unbecoming  national 
prejudice,  we  may  hope  belongs  to  a  people  as  seafaring  as  the 
English,  but  more  intelligent,  more  susceptible  of  high  discipline, 
more  obedient  because  more  free. 

Before  that  demonstration  ofnaval  fortitude  and  ingenuity,  with 
those  of  active  bravery  soon  following,  all  abundant  with  proofs 
of  skill,  there  was  hardly  a  man  in  either  England  or  America, 
who  did  not  believe  the  English  sailor  superior  to  the  American, 
as  well  as  to  the  Dutch,  the  French,  the  Spanish  and  all  others 
tl  ,ey  encountered  :  not  only  in  numbers,  but  in  genius  for  the  sea, 
contrivance,  endurance,  experience,  confidence,  most  of  the  attri- 
butes of  success.  A  contrary  assurance  was  not  a  national  senti- 
ment in  the  United  States:  but  naval  faith,  cherished  by  seamen, 
like  Vestal  fire  or  the  mysteries  of  religious  worship,  in  sacred 
and  fervent  custody,  which  no  want  of  occasion,  or  other's  incre- 
dulity could  impair ;  conviction  which  now  not  even  many  defeats 
can  destroy.  It  is  now  a  national  sentiment,  which  Great  Bri- 
tain will  contest,  but  America  feels  is  not  to  be  acquired,  but  only 
maintained.  When  the  war  broke  out  Great  Britain,  surprised 
by  an  American  etlbrt  believed  to  be  beyond  the  spirit  of  our 
government  or  the  energy  of  our  people,  knowing  that  her  inte- 
rest lay  not  in  fighting,  but  in  despoiling  the  United  States ;  with 
all  her  means  employed  in  Europe,  Great  Britain  had  some 
apprehensions  for  her  American  territorial  possessions,  but  none 
for  naval  supremacy,  which  her  few  ships  in  this  hemisphere 
were  reckoned  more  than  enough  to  preserve.  British  sentiment, 
expressed  by  Canning  and  Brougham  in  Parliament,  universal 
throughout  the  nation  and  the  navy  above  all,  was  profound  con- 
tempt for  American  naval  resistance.  No  American  fleet, squad- 
ron, or  hardly  single  ship  had  ever  withstood  the  overwhelming 
might  of  British  broadsides,  which  ruled  the  waves,  and  not  a  sail 
spread  but  by  their  permission.  The  people  of  the  United  States 
coincided  in  both  opinions ;  in  strong  hope  of  the  conquest  of  Cana- 
da, but  with  no  hopes  of  naval  success.  Congress  did  little,  the 
executive  less  for  the  navy,  distrusted,  almost  despised,  senteni-ed 
to  be  dismantled  and  disgraced  by  our  own  constituted  authority. 
While  war  was  begun  without  taxes,  troops  or  organization,  re- 
lying on  its  dry  declaration  by  Congress,  the  president's  procla- 
mation of  it  and  other  empty  demonstrations,  there  was  still  con- 
Udence,  false  confidence  in  the  raw  voluntary  levies  to  whom  the 


's 


CHAP.  XL] 


AMERICAN    NAVY. 


385 


conquest  of  Canada  was  committed.  General  William  Hull 
went  forth  to  the  conquest  of  Canada,  heralding  his  progress  by- 
menacing  announcements;  high  and  general  anticipations  went 
with  him.  At  the  same  time  Captain  Isaac  Hull  had  the  fortune 
to  be  the  first  American  seaman  that  met  an  English  ship  of  war 
in  equal  combat.  His  crew  were  not  as  thoroughly  prepared  as 
he  wished,  and  there  is  tradition  by  no  means  to  his  disparage- 
ment, but  quite  the  contrary,  that  Hull  and  his  equally  considerate 
first  officer  Morris,  doubted  whether  a  longer  cruise  and  more 
sea  service  were  not  necessary  to  prepare  the  men  for  so  moment- 
ous an  issue  as  the  first  trial  of  arms  by  sea  between  sovereign 
America  and  G  eat  Britain.  It  was  even  said  that  these  pru- 
dent olRcers  were  more  anxious  than  the  issue  proved  to  be  ne- 
cessary, about  a  trial  upon  which  all  England  looked  with 
perfect  certainty  of  success  and  nearly  all  this  country  with  pain- 
ful misgivings.  No  one  can  compare  the  American  and  English 
ofliciul  accounts  of  it  without  acknowledgment  that  accident  or 
fortune  had  little  to  do  with  the  battle,  which  was  like  nearly. all 
the  other  naval  engagements  throughout  the  war ;  those  fought 
after  England  had  time  to  recover  from  her  surprise,  and  endea- 
vour to  imitate  or  excel  her  antagonist  as  well  as  those  before. — 
The  suppressed  but  inextinguishable  fire  of  well-considered  con- 
fidence burning  in  naval  bosoms,  lighted  indignant,  but  thought- 
ful and  uncqualed  mariners,  to  such  battle  as  commands  fortune, 
repairs  accident  and  insures  victory.  More  extensive  or  more 
numerous  battles  would  add  little  to  the  credentials  of  the  few 
gained.  The  blaze  of  triumph  was  continued  with  little  interrup- 
tion. It  established  a  character  for  naval  excellence  which  it 
will  be  harder  to  lose  than  to  get.  It  would  be  weakness  to  sup- 
pose that  England  has  lost  the  sword  of  maritime  authority.  To 
no  nation  have  American  naval  triumphs  been  more  improving 
than  to  her.  It  would  be  still  greater  weakness  to  flatter  the 
American  navy  to  delude  itself  by  imitating  that  vain-glorious 
English  confidence  which  was  part  of  the  means  of  its  discom- 
fiture. Hut  the  history  of  the  war  of  1812  has  passed  into  the 
judgment  of  the  world,  that  America  has  what  England  had  of 
naval  pre-eminence :  that  in  another  war  we  have  to  keep  and 
she  to  get  what  in  the  last  war  we  won  and  she  lost.  No  mere 
scale  of  operations  can  change  the  result,  unless  ship  timber  and 
numbers  constitute  national  nautical  superiority,  not  men  and  sea- 
voL.  I. — 33 


'i'ff,x\. 


MM 


!?!«*. 


S0 


r'>'  ■•';■ 


lltJ^K.f*; 


386 


ENGLISH    SENTIMENT. 


[AUG.,  1812. 


mansliip,  alacrity  and  ingenuity,  freedom  and  love  of  the  country 
which  gives  it  without  restraint.  In  the  glorious  ilUistrations  of 
naval  vigour  by  tiie  war  of  1812,  its  dawn  was  adorned  by  splen- 
did and  vivifying  rays,  which  beamed  with  equal  brilliancy  upon 
its  last  moments,  shedding  upon  American  annals  lustre  not  easily 
ellhced,  impressions  of  American  power  felt  throughout  the  globe, 
memorials  of  supr,  ior  seamanship,  enterprise,  discipline,  consider- 
ate courage  and  humanity,  always  conspicuous  and  umform. 
which  have  become  national  property,  n  ;ver  to  be  yielded  but 
with  national  existence. 

To  appreciate  the  naval  effect  of  the  capture  of  the  first  British 
frigate  we  nnist  inquire  of  English  opinion  on  the  occasion  ;  of 
which  the  following  from  a  London  Journal  indicates  the  whole  • 

"We  have  been  accused,"  said  it,  "of  sentiments  unworthy  of 
Enirlishmen,  because  we  described  what  we  saw  and  felt  on  the 
occasion  of  the  capture  of  the  Guerricre.  fFe  icityicssed  tkef^loom 
which  that  event  cast  over  high  and  honourable  minds ;  we  par- 
ticipated in  the  vexation  and  regret ;  and  it  is  the  first  time  that  we 
have  ever  heard  that  the  striking  of  the  flag  on  the  high  seas  to 
anything  like  an  equal  force,  should  be  regarded  by  Englishmen 
with  complacency  or  satisfaction.  If  it  be  a  fault  to  cherish 
among  our  countrymen  'that  chastity  of  honour  which  feels  a 
stain  like  a  wound ;'  if  it  be  an  error  to  consider  the  reputation 
of  our  navy  as  tenderly  and  delicately  alive  to  reproach— that 
fault,  that  error  we  are  likely  often  to  commit ;  and  we  cannot 
but  consider  the  sophistry,  which  would  render  us  insensible  to 
the  dishonour  of  our  flag  as  peculiarly  noxious  at  the  present 
conjuncture.  It  is  not  merely  that  an  English  frigate  has  been 
taken,  after  what  we  are  free  to  confess,  may  be  called  a  brave 
resistance,  but  that  it  has  been  taken  by  a  neiv  enemy,  ixw  enemy 
imaccustomed  to  such  trin?nphs,  and  likely  to  be  rendered  inso- 
lent and  confident  by  them.  He  must  be  a  weak  politician  who 
does  not  see  how  important  the  first  triumph  is  in  giving  a  tone 
and  character  to  the  war.  Never  before,  in  the  history  of  the 
tvorld,  did  an  English  frigate  strike  to  an  t/lmerican,  and 
though  we  cannot  say  that  Captain  Dacres,  under  all  circum- 
stances, is  punishable  for  this  act,  yet  we  do  say,  there  are  com- 
manders in  the  English  navy,  who  would  a  thousand  times 
rather  have  gone  down  with  their  colours  flying,  than  have  set 
their  fellow-sailors  so  fatal  an  example." 


■% 


^|'.< 


CHAP.  XI.] 


ENGLISH    SENTIMENT. 


387 


To  indicate  the  political  effect  of  Hull's  victory,  tlic  same 
opinion  was  at  the  time  equally  significant.  It  tleplored  what 
is  unquestionable,  that  the  naval  reign  of  Great  Britain  was  at 
an  end  tlie  moment  another  nation  could  dispute  it,  whose  com- 
mercial marine  was  only  second  to  hers,  and  rapidly  in  progress 
to  outstrip  it  in  numbers  of  tonnage  and  seamen. 

"We  have  received,"  said  a  London  Journal,  "letters  and  pa- 
pers from  New  York  to  the  Mlh,  and  from  Washington  to  the 
JUh  ult.  We  are  not  surprised  to  find  from  these,  that  the  repeal 
of  the  orders  in  council,  anqtle  and  unconditional  as  it  was,  has 
not  satisfied  the  demagogues  of  America.  The  American  gov- 
ernment has  now  thrown  otf  the  mask,  even  of  moderation, 
which  its  members  have  assumed  in  their  negotiations  with  this 
country,  and  has  made  common  cause  with  France  in  her  attempt 
to  subjugate  the  world.  The  tone  of  the  National  Intelligencer, 
the  organ  of  Mr.  Madison's  govermnent,  previous  to  the  arrival 
in  America,  of  the  formal  repeal  of  the  orders  in  council,  was 
moderate,  if  not  pacific,  but  now  that  Great  Britain  has  receded 
from  her  high  and  commanding  attitude,  as  mislress  of  the  seas 
and  ilictulur  of  the.  nutritime  laws  q/'nafions,  America,  like  an 
ungrateful  and  malignant  minion,  turns  upon  her  /jcnc/ucior, aud 
demands  still  furthfr  concessions — the  American  flag  is  now  to 
secine  all  that  sails  under  it.  This  is  precisely  the  language 
of  the  French  government  — free  ships  make  free  goods,  has 
been  <;ternally  echoed  in  our  ears,  since  the  commencement  of 
the  war;  and  but  yesterday  we  were  told  by  Fran'  ,  that  the 
treaty  of  IJirech;  was  the  line  of  dumarkation  of  ou;  uaritime 
rights.  This  is  bold  language  to  utter  to  a  nation  whose  seamen 
have  successively  beaten  every  power  in  Europe  into  a  conj'es- 
s'um  of  their  snpcriorilij — a  nation  whose  fleets  have  annihilated 
in  succession,  those  of  Spain,  Holland,  France,  Russia,  and  Den- 
mark. Our  tnari/ime  superiorihj  is,  infuct,part  of  the  natiou^s 
r'tghl.  It  has  been  the  right  of  the  conqueror,  since  men  as- 
sociated together  in  civilization,  to  give  laws  to  the  concpiered, 
and  is  Great  Britain  to  be  driven  from  the  proud  eminence 
which  the  blood  and  treasures  of  her  sons  have  attained  for  lier 
among  nations,  by  a  piece  of  striped  bunting,  flying  at  the  mast- 
heads of  a  few  Jlr-hui/l  frigales,  maimed  by  a  handful  of  bus- 
tards and  outlaws T' 

I  shall  touch  but  briefly  on  the  naval  baltles  of  \S\2,  already 


¥M 


f^ 


/  ■ :  M 


b  >. 


A". 


:'\\;,' 


I, 


388 


AMERICAN    NAVAL    VICTORIES. 


[AW,.,  1812. 


the  theme  of  so  much  description  and  controversy,  and  only  as 
introductory  to  my  tasii  which  begins  with  the  succeeding  year. 
VVliat  shall  we  do  lor  vessels  on  Lake  Erie,  said  Mr.  Gallatin  to 
a  young  lieutenant,  without  any,  or  money  to  build  them  ?  Take 
them,  said  Elliott.  Accordingly,  on  the  night  of  8th  October,  1812, 
a  week  before  the  attack  on  Queenstown,  the  first  essay  was  made 
in  the  Niagara  by  capturing  the  Caledonia,  a  considerable  brig 
of  war,  next  year  well  employed  in  Perry's  action,  and  a  mer- 
chant vessel,  the  Detroit,  both  anchored  under  the  British  bat- 
teries, boarded,  taken,  and  brought  otf,  by  an  enterprise  which 
Mr.  Clay  declared  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  with  the 
ardour  which  always,  perhaps  some  of  the  extravagance  which 
at  times  marked  his  stimulation  of  hostilities,  an  enterprize  which 
lor  judgment,  skill,  and  courage,  has  never  been  surpassed. 
Lieutenant  Roach,  since  Mayor  of  Philadelphia,  now  Treasurer 
of  the  Mint  of  the  United  States,  and  a  reverend  gentleman  who 
since  olliciated  as  the  respectable  i)astor  of  an  J^piscopal  Cliurch 
at  Newcastle,  Delaware,  where  he  died,  then  Ensign  Prestman, 
of  the  regular  army,  were  volunteers  in  the  boat  with  Elliott. 
General  To\vson,for  many  years  paymaster-general  of  the  army 
of  the  United  States,  then  captain  of  artillery,  was  a  volunteer 
in  the  other  boat  commanded  by  sailing-master  Watts,  of  the 
navy,  killed  a  few  days  after  at  the  battle  of  Queenstown.  Ge- 
neral Winlield  Scott,  tlien  a  lieutiMiant-colonel,  and  Captain 
Barker,  since  Mayor  of  Philadelphia  and  comptroller  of  the 
treasury  of  the  United  States, — volunteered,  but  were  not  permit- 
ted to  go  in  that  expedition.  General  Tuwson  and  Commodore 
Elliott,  more  tiian  twenty  years  afterwards,  when  there  were 
laurels  enough  for  both,  fell  into  angry  dispute  about  their 
respective  sluires;  appealing  to  public  judgment  in  i)rintfd  pub- 
lications, which  excite  regret  that  such  deeds  should  be  tarnished 
by  such  controversy. 

IIulTs  capture  of  the  Guerriere  the  lOih  of  August,  1812, 
would  })robably  have  taken  place  with  greater  comparative  de- 
struction, had  not  both  ships,  in  the  spirit  of  national  emulation 
which  fired  each,  approached  so  close  as  to  deprive  our  gunnery 
of  its  advantages  by  sighted  and  deliberate  firing.  When  the 
Wasp  sloop  of  war,  under  Captain  Jones,  on  the  18th  of  October, 
1812,  captured  the  English  brig  Frolic,  of  greater  size  and  num- 
ber of  crew,  the  same  advantage  was  conceded  to  the  enemy  by 


^n 


IHAP.  XI.] 


NAVAL    VICTORIKS. 


389 


Still  closer  approach,  by  actual  contoct,  and  the  English  vessel 
was  carried  by  boarders  headed  by  Lieutenant,  now  Conniiodore 
Uiddlc,  who  hauled  down  the  British  flag  liimsclf.  On  the  28lh 
of  October,  1812,  Decatur,  in  the  United  States  frigate,  captured 
the  Macedonian,  when,  as  the  English  ship  held  ofi'  with  the 
weather-gage,  the  advantage  of  American  guinicry  was  more 
striking:  and  of  orderly  discipline;  the  English  ship  tumultuous 
with  huzzas  accompanying  lier  broadsides,  while  Decatur's  crew 
were,  as  he  charged  thcni  to  be,  as  quiet  as  Quaker  meeting.  On 
the  aoth  of  December,  1S12,  the  Constitution,  under  Captain 
Bainbriilge,  captured  the  Java,  British  frigate,  under  circum- 
stances so  nearly  resembling  the  other  successes  that  they  need 
not  be  repeated.  The  Constitution  and  United  States  were  larger 
than  the  Giierriere,  ISIacedonian,  and  Java.  Ihit  the  Frolii  was 
larger  than  the  Wasp:  and  the  disparity  of  destruction  in  all 
these  cases  proved  that  something  more  tiian  relative  size  was 
the  cause  of  invariable  success  and  much  greater  destruction. 

On  these  occasions,  English  prisoners  often  behaved  as  if  their 
captors  were  their  prisoners :  and  American  victors  sometimes 
carried  kindness  beyond  the  policy  of  that  virtue.  Between  all 
hostile  nations,  courtesy,  clemency,  and  humanity,  are  to  be  cul- 
tivated ;  between  kindred  people  they  are  indispensable  comity. 
Captain  Bainbridge  not  only  paroled  forthwith  Lieutenant-CJene- 
ral  Ilyslop  and  his  suite,  taken  in  tlio  Java,  but  restored  all  their 
plate  and  valuables  with,  perhaps,  excess  of  generosity.  Among 
the  testimony  laid  before  Congress  by  the  select  committee  charg- 
ed, on  Mr.  Clay's  motion,  with  Macon  at  its  head,  to  report  on  the 
spirit  and  maimer  in  which  the  war  was  waged  by  the  enemy, 
it  was  certified  by  two  American  oflicers.  Berry  and  Weaver, 
taken  in  the  Chesapeake,  that  all  their  prize-money  was  taken 
from  them,  their  side-arms  taken,  kept,  and  worn,  never  restored 
as  usual,  and  so  great  was  the  rage  for  plunder,  that  Captain 
Lawrence,  mortally  wounded,  could  not  obtain  a  bottle  of  wine 
from  his  private  sea-stores,  without  a  note  from  the  doctor  to  the 
English  Lieutenant,  Wallis,  commanding  the  prize,  who  ordered 
our  wounded  midshipmen  to  be  instantly  cut  down,  if  they  stood 
in  what  he  deemed  an  improper  part  of  the  vessel.  Among  the 
many  benefits  of  the  war  of  1812,  there  was  none  greater  than 
breaking  down  that  idolatry  of  England,  which  rebuked  back  this 
country  to  colonial  reverence,  and  inflamed  that  to  arrogance 

33* 


'  I 


f^;i 


y.  "j 


fV 


390 


H\IMIIUD(;E,     DEIATI'R,     HULL. 


lOCT.,  1812. 


and  uiiimosily  detrimental  to  both.  There  yet  remains  too  much 
lingering;  spirit  of  this  American  iniiileliiy  and  Enropean  insolence 
not  to  jnstily  unreserved  exposure  of  the  Iraillies  of  lioth  in  the 
second  war,  which  superadded  moral  to  political  independence. 

The  capture  of  the  Alert,  an  English  sloop  of  war,  by  the 
Essex,  Captain  Porter,  a  small  frigate,  but  much  superior  to  her 
enemy,  though  the  first  capture  of  the  war  by  sea,  has  not  been 
incutijned  before,  because  it  was  a  coiupiost  so  easy,  as  to  excite 
less  interest  than  the  other  captures  of  ISIJ.  Nor  shall  I  now 
recount  tiie  numerous  captures  of  that  gallant  ship,  on  lier  distant 
voyage,  but  wait  till  we  come  to  the  catastroj)he  of  her  adven- 
turous cruize  in  the  Paciiic,  in  February,  181 1.  For  the  same 
reason,  the  cruise  of  Commodore  Kodgers  in  the  President,  with 
his  squadron,  is  also  omitted.  To  detail  mere  captures  without 
combats  would  be  devoid  of  interest.  Enough  of  the  maritime 
occurrouces  of  1812  has  been  summarily  presented  to  show  that 
American  siiips  of  war  cruised  mostly  without  molestation,  gene- 
rally with  unlooked-for  success.  The  grandeur  of  British  dr- 
minion  by  sea  became  fabulous  in  six  months.  The  conviction 
was  general,  that  there,  as  upon  the  lakes,  it  was  reduced  to  the 
mere  power  of  ship-building;  that,  while  the  numbers  were 
against  us,  the  prowess  and  palm  were  transferred  from  the  Old 
World  to  the  New. 

Of  the  brave  founders  of  this  empire  of  opinion,  IJainbridgc, 
Decatur,  and  Hull,  have  since  passed  away:  and  we  may  deal 
with  them  historically.  Decatur  and  Bainbridge  were  both 
conspicuous  in  events  hereafter  to  be  described.  Hull  was  not 
at  sea  again  during  the  war :  but  rested  ashore  on  his  laurels. 
He  was  an  excellent  seaman,  but  no  enthusiast.  Decatur  envied 
him  the  fortune  to  bo  lirst  in  the  race  of  renown,  which  Hull 
would  never  have  envied  Decatur;  but  took  it  as  it  came,  as, 
j)crhaps,  he  would  have  let  it  pass,  without  distressing  his  placid 
nature  if  it  had  escaped  him.  Decatur  was  a  restless  spirit  who 
loved  danger  and  bloodshed,  and  fell  in  a  due'  Irom  a  pinnacle 
of  distinction,  when  striving  to  repair  the  deficiencies  he  regret- 
ted, of  early  education.  Hnll  died  quietly  in  his  bed,  giving 
directions  for  his  own  funeral.  No  otlicer  of  the  navy  bore  a 
larger  part  in  its  performances,  in  the  Frencii,  the  African,  and 
the  English  wars,  tlian  Bainbridge  :  none  was,  perhaps,  so  instru- 
mental in  preventing  its  being  cast  away  in  1812  as  unfit  to  be 


'mn 

f'^^h] 

:^^);d 

;    ,-   •;  '  .  1 

•'i*^>  ' 

t  ■     'i 

f  k-H'-'^O 

I-        A 

'ty 


)CT.,  Ihlii 


CHAP.  XI.] 


FllKJATK    (HKSAPKAKK. 


391 


00  nmcli 
iiisoloiice 
>tli  ill  tliu 
ndeiicc. 
r,  by  llic 
ior  to  her 

not  bueii 

1  to  excite 
all  I  now 
er  distant 
er  adv(3n- 

the  same 
km,  with 
IS  witliout 

niaritiinu 
show  that 
;ion,gciie- 
Iritish  dc- 
conviction 
iccd  to  the 
bcrs  werr 
lu  the  Old 

ainbridgc, 
may  deal 
verc   both 
1  was  not 
is  lanrcls. 
tiir  envied 
hicii  Hull 
came,  as, 
his  placid 
spirit  who 
a  pinnacle 
he  regret- 
cd,  giving 
ivy  bore  a 
Vican,  and 
so  instrii- 
unfit  to  be 


trusted  at  soa.  JJut  his  conduct  in  isii,  vhcn  the  government 
of  Massachusetts  attempted  to  put  it  out  of  the  pale  of  national 
community  and  protection,  was  the  most  ctninent  of  all  Bain- 
bridge's  services.  The  responsibility  he  assiuncd,  moral  and 
patriotic  courage  he  displayed  on  that  trying  occasion,  deservu 
more  ap|)lau,se  than  his  battles;  as  shall  be  fully  made  known  iu 
the  amials  of  another  year. 

Tlie  tide  of  naval  triumphs  was  interrupted  by  the  capture 
of  the  frigate  Chesapeake,  almost  in  sight  of  IJoston  harbour,  on 
the  1st  day  of  .liuie,  I8i:J,  shortly  after  the  extra  session  of  Con- 
gr(!ss  began.     More  than  thirty  years  since  that  event,  recol- 
lection  is  still  vivid  of  the  su[)erstitious  presentiment,   which 
many   felt   when   informed   that   Captain    Lawrence  had  been 
challenged  by  Conunodore  JJroUe  of  the  Shannon,  and  gone  out 
to  light  him.     On  the  2.id  of  June,  1807,  the  ill-starred  Ch(!s;i- 
peakc  struck   her  Hag  in  our    own  waters  to  the  Hritish  ship 
Leopard,  whoso  commander  forcibly  took  from  our  ship  some 
of  her  crew.     That  outrageous  aggression  would  have  produced 
war  then,  if  the  political  pilot,  .lellerson,  iiad  not  been  bent  on 
the  impracticable  (experiment  of  perpetual  peace,  which  had  the 
ell'ecl  of  increasing  national  exasperation,  by  constraining  pro- 
tracted submission  to  continually  nuiltiplying  acts  of  injustice. 
The  live  following  years  completed  the  cycle  of  American  wrongs, 
Ibrhearance,  and  indignation,  and  elicited  the  declaration  of  war 
with  a  new  era  of  naval  annals,  which  brought  unexpected  and 
providential  reliel".     From  the  depths  of  national  degradation, 
and  maritime  desi)ondeiicy  the  country  was  raised  all  .it  once  to 
intoxicating  heights  of  triumphant  assurance,  to  which  Captain 
I^awrence  fell  a  victim.      In  December,  1812,  in  the  Hornet, 
sloop  of  war,  after  blockading  an  English  vessel  of  superior 
loice,  the  brig  of  war,  Bonne  Citoycnne,  in  the  port  of  San  Sal- 
vador, and  challenging  lier  Captain,  Creen,  who  disingenuously 
declined  to  light  him — Captain  Lawrence,  in  the  course  of  a  cruise 
among  the  West  India  Islands,  sunk  another  British  brig  of  war 
of  about  liis  own  force,  the  Peacock,  with  transcendent  dispatch, 
in  a  (juarter  of  an  hour,  in  sight  of  the  Espiegle,  another  British 
vessel  of  war  which  did  not  venture  to  engage  him.     After  this 
round  of  amazing  success,  he  returned  covered  with  trophies,  was 
restored  to  the  rank,  which,  to  his  deep  mortification  and  against 
his  strong  remonstrances,  he  had  lost  by  the  promotion  of  Cap- 


il 


*,  t? 


1 


f.i, 


392 


LAWRENCE. 


[JUNE,  1S13. 


tain  Morris,  and  was  appointed  to  the  command  of  the  frigate 
Chesapcalic,  Desiring  to  remain  a  short  time  on  shore,  he 
offered  to  exi  hanL,e  witii  Captain  Stewart  the  Cliesapeake,  then 
ready  for  sea,  for  the  Constitution,  to  which  Captain  Stewart  had 
been  appointed,  wliicli  vessel,  then  at  Boston,  it  would  require 
some  time  to  refit.  Stewart  was  detained  at  Norfolk,  fortifying 
the  Constellation  there  from  the  British  blockading  squadron, 
which  never  liad  enterprise  enough  to  capture  that  frigate, 
though  tliey  prevented  her  from  going  to  sea  during  the  whole 
war.  On  his  way  north,  Captain  Stewart  heard  at  Washington 
tidings  of  the  Chesapeake's  capture.  If  he  had  comiiianded  iicr, 
more  prudent  than  Lawrence,  never  liaving  challenged  one  ene- 
my's vessel,  nor  sunk  anotlu  r,  with  such  rapidity  of  execution 
as  to  disarm  his  discretion,  it  might  have  been  that  the  Chesa- 
peake's intemperate  disaster  would  not  liave  taken  place,  or  its 
revulsion  of  feeling  in  both  countries,  discouraging  ours,  as  if  our 
flood  of  naval  triumphs  had  turned  to  ebb,  and  transporting  Great 
Britain  like  another  victory  of  Camperdown,  or  Trafalgar,  when 
she  struck  Holland,  France,  and  Spain,  from  the  annals  of  naval 
contest.  We  soon  recovered  from  tliis  solitary  blow,  although  it 
shifted  upon  this  country  the  unwelcome  and  mortifying  burthen 
of  apologizing  for  a  defeat  more  than  atoned  for  by  a  gallant  cap- 
tain, who  expired  with  words  of  professional  pride  and  exem- 
plary courage  on  his  lips,  that  will  lotig  rally  his  countrymen  to 
victory  or  death. 

The  death  and  misfortune  of  Captain  Lawrence  were  a  noble 
but  not  uncommon  sacrifice  of  the  bravest  and  truest  individuals, 
at  the  shrine  of  glory,  for  the  benefit  of  their  country.  Lawrence, 
appointed  to  command  tlie  sloop  of  war  Hornet,  altered  from  a 
brig  to  a  ship,  was  sent,  in  1811,  with  Lieutenant,  now  Commo- 
dore Biddle,  as  bearer  of  dispatches  to  France  and  England, 
where  the  frigate  Constitution,  Captain  Hull,  the  corvette  Essex, 
Captain  Porter,  and  the  sloop  of  war  Wasp,  Captain  Jones,  then 
were  also  on  similar  errands.  The  inimical  feeling  between 
England  and  this  country  displayed  itself  on  all  occasions  be- 
tween vessels  of  war,  which  animosity  induced  Lawrence  to  keep 
his  ship  always  ready  for  action  whenever  an  English  vessel 
was  near,  with  one  of  which  he  had  angry  explanations  in  the 
British  Channel — the  brig  Thracian,  Captain  Symes.  After  a  run 
of  only  eighteen  days  from  Europe  to  America,  the  Hornet,  in 


^'i 


CHAP.  XI.] 


MIDSHIPMAN'S    DIARY. 


393 


May  1812,  landed  Lieutenant  IJiddle,  as  bearer  of  dispatches, 
at  New  York,  where  the  frigates  Ptesident,  Captain  Rodgcrs, 
the  United  States,  Captain  Decatur,  and  Congress,  Captain 
Smith,  were  lying  all  ready  for  sea.  The  following  extract 
from  a  midshipman's  diary,  on  board  the  Hornet,  well  expresses 
the  feeling  with  which  that  squadron  forthwith  went  to  sea. 
"June  21.  This  morning  the  declaration  of  war  by  the  United 
States  against  Great  Britain  was  received — on  shore  all  is  com- 
motion and  bustle — on  board  every  countenance  is  beaming 
with  delight,  for  many  are  the  bold  tars  in  our  squadron  who 
have  been  impressed  for  years  in  the  English  naval  service 
that  may  now  have  an  opportunity  of  wreaking  their  vengeance 
upon  those  that  have  oppressed  them.  At  10  A.  M.,  Commo- 
dore Rodgers  hove  out  the  signal  to  weigh  ;  never  was  anchor 
to  the  cat-head  sooner,  nor  topsail  sheeted  home  and  to  tlie  mast- 
head with  more  dispatch  than  upon  the  present  occasion  ;  the 
smallest  boy  on  board  seems  anxious  to  meet  what  is  now 
looked  upon  as  the  common  tyrant  of  the  ocean,  for  they  had 
lieard  the  woeful  tales  of  the  older  tars.  When  the  ship  was 
under  weigh.  Captain  Lawrence  delivered  a  short  and  appropri- 
ate address  to  the  crew,  which  was  returned  by  three  hearty 
cheers,  and  swore  never  to  disgrace  their  country's  flag.  Captain 
Lawrence  liad  the  crew  called  to  their  quarters,  and  told  them 
that  if  there  were  any  amongst  them  who  were  disaffected,  or 
one  that  had  not  rather  sink  than  surrender  to  the  enemy  with 
gun  for  gun,  that  he  should  be  immediately,  and  uninjured, 
landed  or  sent  back  in  the  pilot  boat:  the  reply,  fore  and  aft,  was 
— not  one.  At  hall-past  two  o'clock  P.  INI.,  passed  Sandy  Hook 
and  put  to  sea." 

The  midshipman's  diary  next  gives  an  account  of  the  chase 
of  the  lielvidcra,  Knglish  frigate,  Captain  Byron,  by  Rodgers' 
squadron,  which  the  Belvidera  skillfully  eluded,  and  jnot  without 
killing  and  wounding  several  men,  including  Rodgers,  badly 
wounded  by  the  bursting  of  a  gun  on  board  the  President.  The 
first  American  prize  made  that  war  was  an  English  merchant 
brig  called  the  Dolphin,  sent  in  under  charge  of  Midshipman 
Conner,  acting  sailing-master  of  the  Hornet,  now  commanding 
the  American  squadron  in  the  Gulf  of  JNIexico.  Rodgers' 
squadron  of  three  frigates,  a  sloop  and  brig  of  war,  sailed  as  far 
north  as  Cape  Sables,  on  that  short  cruise.     Why  not,  consisting 


m 


6»  1     «iSr 
r\«     '  t, 


i-"*^ 


P 

r"*,.' 


394 


LAWRENCE. 


[JUNE,  1S13. 


of  tlio  four  other  American  frigates  that  might  have  been  part  of 
it,  go  otf  Haiirax  and  tliere  search  for  tlie  enemy  at  his  head 
quarters?  Tiie  naval  war  began  by  an  American  squadron 
chasing  a  solitary  English  frigate,  the  Belvidera,  and  an  English 
squadron  chasing  in  like  manner,  the  American  frigate  Consti- 
tution, on  the  same  cruising  ground,  not  far  from  the  same  time, 
when  combination  and  system  on  our  part,  before  these  disjointed 
cruises  took  place,  might  have  opened  hostilities  with  an  exploit 
of  incalculable  results.  The  British  navy  in  Nortli  America  was 
at  the  mercy  of  a  well-combined  operation  of  the  American  at 
that  moment. 

Lawrence  after  that  cruise  with  Rodgers,  having  seen  the  vic- 
torious Constitution  in  Nantasket  Roads,  returned  from  her  cap- 
ture of  the  Guerriere,  sailed  on  another  cruise,  with  liainbridgc 
as  captain  of  the  Constitution,  and  in  December,  1812,  they 
found  the  English  corvette  Bonne  Citoyenne,  in  the  harbour  of 
St.  Salvador,  once  the  capital  of  Brazil.  Bainbridge  left  that 
neighbourhood,  first  having  addressed  a  letter  sent  to  the  Englisli 
consul  at  St.  Salvador,  informing  him  that  the  Constitution 
would  go  to  a  distance  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  her  interfe- 
rence, while  the  Hornet  engaged  the  Bonne  Citoyenne.  She 
had  more  guns  and  more  men  than  the  Hornet.  At  the  same 
time  Lawrence  sent  what  the  midshipman's  diary  calls  a  formal 
challenge  to  Captain  Greene,  of  the  enemy's  corvette.  That 
challenge  probably  caused  the  capture  of  the  Chesapeake  and 
Lawrence's  death.  Yet  its  being  sent  by  the  brave  New  Jor- 
seymcn  who  ventured  it,  Bainbridge  and  Lawrence,  and  being 
declined  by  the  commander  of  an  English  vessel  of  superior 
force,  conid  not  be  without  good  oU'ecl  for  us  among  the  sea- 
men of  both  nations.  For  many  days  Lawrence  blockaded  the 
Englishman  at  St.  Salvador,  frequently  standing  in  close  to  the 
harbour,  and  making  there  the  usual  demonstrations  of  defiance, 
which  Captain  Greene  not  only  declined,  but  assigned  for  it  the 
disingenuous  and  ollensive  reason  that  Bainbridge,  who  had 
given  his  honour  not  to  interfere,  would,  nevertheless,  do  so. 
Public  sentiment  in  England  would  not  have  tolerated  any 
English  captain's  refusing,  in  the  same  way,  the  challenge  of  a 
Frenchmini.  The  spirit  of  American  seamanship  was  disclosed 
in  this  proceeding,  and  its  daring  can  hardly  be  condenmed,  not- 
withstanding the  unfortunate  fate  it  contributed  to  bring  upon  the 
gallant  Lawrence.    Driven  from  that  neighbourhood  by  the  Mon- 


I   ^-z 


X 


''>•> 
I 


^E,  1S13. 


CHAP.  XL] 


LIEUTENANT    COX. 


395 


1  part  ot' 

lis  head 
luadiou 
English 
Coiisti- 
ne  time, 
isjoiiited 
I  exploit 
rica  was 
jricaii  at 

the  vic- 
lier  caj)- 
iiibridgo 
12,  they 
rbour  oi' 
left  that 
English 
islitution 
r  iiiteife- 
le.     Slie 
[he  same 
I  formal 
That 
ikc  and 
e\v  Jer- 
iid  being 
superior 
the  sea- 
ided  the 
sc  to  tlie 
Jefiance, 
"or  it  the 
vho  had 
,  do  so. 
ted   any 
uge  of  a 
disclosed 
lied,  uot- 
u[)oii  the 
he  Mon- 


tague 74,  Lawrence  made  sail  for  the  West  Indies,  and  on  the  24th 
February,  1813,  off  Demarara,  engaged  within  half  pistol-shot, 
and  sunk  in  fifteen  minutes,  the  English  brig  of  war  Peacock, 
Captain  Peake,  a  vessel  of  about  equal  force.  During  tlie  battle 
another  British  brig  of  war,  the  L'Espicglc,  mounting  fifteen  32 
pound  carronades,  and  two  long  giuis,  lay  at  anchor  close  by. 

The  particulars  of  the  engagement  between  the  Chesapeake 
and  the  Shannon  have  been  too  often  published  to  justify  ano- 
ther edition  of  them.    Mr.  Washington  Irving,  in  1810,  frotn  the 
account  of  officers  of  the  Chesapeake,  Mr.  Fennimore  Cooper 
in  1839,  from  authentic  and  professional  sources  of  intelligence, 
liave  so  fully  explained  that,  the  only  counterblast  to  American 
naval  triumphs  over  the  great  conquerors  of  the  seas,  that  I  shall 
add  only  what  has  been  hitherto  uot  overlooked,  but  suppressed, 
from  mistaken  motives ;  the  condemnation  of  acting  Lieutenant 
William  S.  Cox,  to  whom  was  ascribed  the  loss  of  the  x'Xmerican 
frigate.     A  court-martial,  of  which  Decatur  was  President,  con- 
vened on  board  his  ship  the  United  States,  in  March,  1814,  for 
the  trial  of  Mr.  Cox,  (and  some  inferior  officers,  two  midship- 
men, the  bngleman,  and  a  seaman,)  whose  judgment  it  would 
not  become  one  unskilled  in  naval  tactics,  unaflected  with  naval 
sympathies,  to  contradict.     It  is  said  that  the  absence  of  a  mem- 
ber of  the  court,  which  reduced  its  numbers  from  thirteen  to 
twelve,  changed  a  sentence  of  death,  as  it  might  otherwise  have 
been,  to  that  of  being  cashiered,  with  a  perpetual  incapacity  to 
serve  in  the  navy  of  the  United  States.     It  has  also  been  said 
that  the  blood  of  Byng,  whether  justly  or  unjustly  shed,  was 
the  seed  of  all  the  British  naval  victories.     Perhaps,  in   the 
state  of  public  feeling  at  the  time,  the  sacrifice  of  the  surviving 
otlicer  of  the  Chesapeake,  a  young  man  of  respectable  character 
and  connections,  was  due  to  national  policy,  or  naval  pride.   But 
the  gentleman  condemned,  and  his  country,  are  both  entitled  to 
the  historical  vindication,  which  is  little  known,  that  he  was 
honourably  acquitted  of  the  stigmatizing  charges  of  which  he  was 
accused,  and  convicted  and  sentenced  only  of  what  any  brave 
man  might  be  guilty;  of  what  a  humane  man  might  be  proud; 
and  of  what  many  brave  men  were  much  more  deplorably  guilty 
in  many  of  the  battles  of  that  war,  without  being  tried,  much 
less  blasted  for  it.    Of  the  first  charge,  cowardice ;  the  jecond, 
disobedience  of  orders;  part  of  the  third,  desertion  of  his  quar- 


X5.j*^ 


'Kl- 


2H/ •'•"'■, 


li^=^i'^ 


fr 


I 


ii 


396 


COURT-MARTIAL. 


[MARCH,  1814. 


ters,  Mr.  Cox  was  honourably  acquitted  ;  and  no  one  can  read  the 
testinnony  on  liis  trial,  without  acknowledging  that  he  was  wholly 
innocent.  lie  was  condemned  for  neglect  of  duty  and  unofRcer- 
like  conduct,  the  extent  of  which  offences  appear  by  the  evidence, 
to  have  been  no  more  than  accompanying  Captain  Lawrence 
when  disabled,  from  the  quarter-deck  to  the  cock-pit,  and  not 
succeeding  in  getting  back  to  his  station.  It  is  due  to  the  true 
account  of  that  memorable  transaction  to  give  the  testimony  of 
those  present,  which  is,  therefore,  annexed  at  large  in  the  pro- 
ceedings of  the  court-martial. 

The  United  Slates  Frigate  United  States. 
At  a  general  court  martial  held  on  board  the  United  States  Frigate  United 
Slates,  lying  in  the  harbour  of  New  London,  in  the  state  of  Connecticut,  in  pur- 
suance of  a  precept,  issued  under  the  hand  and  seal  of  the  Hon.  Win.  Jones,  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy  of  the  United  States,  bearing  date  the  17th  day  of  March, 
Anno  Domini,  1814,  and  directed  to  Stephen  Decatur,  Esq.,  captain  in  the  Navy 
of  the  United  States,  on  Friday,  the  15th  day  of  April,  1814. 
Present : — 

Captain  Stepiif.x  Dkcatuh,  PresiJent, 
"        Jacob  Jiin'ks. 
Master  and  Cnmd.  Jamks  BinnLE. 

Lieut.  Gko.  VV.  HunoERH. 
"        Wm.  Cahtkr,  J II. 
"        John  'J\  Siii'iirick. 
"        Ben.i'n  W.  Buotii. 
"        Alex'ii  Clatto.n. 
"        Dwin  CosxKH. 
"        John  GALi.AniiER. 
"        John  D.  Sloat. 
"        Mattukw  C.  Pkriit. 
THO'S  OLIVER  SELFRIDGE,  Esa-,  Judge  Advocate. 

The  judge  advocate  read  the  precept  from  the  Hon.  Wm.  Jones,  secretary  a?? 
aforesaid,  convoking  the  court,  with  the  charges  and  specifications  against 
Lieutenant  William  S.  Cox,  Midshipmen  James  \V.  Forrest  and  Henry  P.  Plesh- 
man,  William  Brown,  bugleman,  Joseph  Russell,  captain  of  the  second  gun. 
thereto  annexed.  The  judge  advocate  then  read  the  warrant  of  Captain  Stephen 
Decatur,  as  president  of  the  court,  appointing  Thomas  Oliver  Selfridge  judge 
advocate  of  this  court.  The  judge  advocate  then  administered  the  oath  pre- 
scribed by  law,  to  the  president  of  the  court,  and  to  each  of  the  members  seve- 
rally, and  the  president  then  administered  the  oath  prescribed  by  law,  to  the 
judge  advocate: 

When  Ijieutenant  William  S.  Cox,  and  Midshipmen  James  W.  Forrest  and 
Henry  P.  Pleshman,  and  William  Brown,  bugleman,  and  Joseph  Russell,  captain 
of  the  second  gun,  came  prisoners  before  the  court,  and  the  following  charges 
and  specifications  of  the  same  were  audibly  read  to  them  by  the  judge  advocate. 


CHAP.  XI.] 


COURT    MARTIAL. 


397 


CHARGES. 
William  S.  Cox,  Lieutenant  in  the  Navy  of  the  United  States. 

1st.  Fon  cowAniiicE. 
Specification.    In  that  he  deserted  his  station  in  lime  of  action  with  the  enemy, 
and  continued  absent  therefrom. 

2d.    FUR  I)ISOBt!l)IGNCF,  OF  OIIDKRR. 

Specification.  In  that  having  been  charged  with  the  command  of  the  second 
division  of  the  gun-deck,  he  left  his  station  in  time  of  action  \vi;h  ilie  enemy, 
and  after  having  so  left  it,  was  seen  by  his  commanding  officer,  James  Lawrence, 
Esq.,  in  the  cock-pit  of  the  said  frigate,  who  ordered  him  to  return  to  his  quar- 
ters, which  orders  he  did  not  execute. 

3d.    DKSKUTIOX   FIHIM  HIS  aUARTKllS  AXI)  NKfiLECTOF  TU'TY. 

Specification  \ist.  In  that  he  was  charged  with  the  command  of  the  2d  division 
of  the  gun-deck,  from  which  he  withdrew  in  time  of  action  with  the  enemy, 
without  orders,  while  the  men  of  said  division  remained  at  their  quarters. 

Specification  Id.  In  that  he  did  not  do  his  utmost  to  aid  aud  assist  to  take,  or 
destroy  the  enemy's  vessel,  the  Shannon,  by  animating  and  encouraging  in  his 
own  person,  conduct  and  example,  the  inferior  otiicers  and  men  to  fight  cour- 
ageously ;  but  did,  contrary  to  orders,  and  his  duty  as  an  officer,  leave  his  station 
in  time  of  action,  and  deny  to  Midshipman  Higginbolham,  the  use  of  coercive 
means  to  prevent  the  men  from  deserting  their  quarters,  running  or  jumping 
below,  and  thereby  comjiel  them  to  return  to  their  duly,  and  repel  the  boarders 
of  the  enemy. 

4tll.   UNOFFICKH-LIKE  POXnUCT. 

Specification  l,v/.  In  that  he  quitted  his  station  designated  in  the  foregoing 
specifications  in  time  of  action  with  the  enemy,  proceeded  to  the  upper  deck, 
and  thence  while  the  enemy  was  boarding  or  attempting  to  board  the  frigate 
Chesapeake,  accompanied  the  person  of  his  disabled  commander  before  named, 
to  the  gun-deck,  and  there  continued  without  properly  exerting  himself  through 
the  remainder  of  the  action. 

Specification  2r/.  In  that,  afi-  r  having  left  his  station  and  proceeded  to  the 
upper  deck,  and  thence,  while  the  enemy  was  boarding  or  attempting  to  board 
the  frigate  Chesapeake,  accompanied  the  person  of  his  disabled  commander  to 
the  gun-deck,  he  did  not  return  to  the  command  of  his  division,  but  went  forward 
on  the  gun-deck,  and  while  there,  and  the  men  were  retreating  below,  commanded 
them  to  go  to  their  duty,  without  enforcing  that  command  himself,  or  directing, 
or  permitting  others  to  do  so  ;  where,  and  in  the  steerage  of  the  frigate  he  contin- 
ued during  the  remainder  of  the  action,  contrary  to  his  duty  and  the  good  ex- 
ample of  an  ollicer. 

To  which  said  Cox  plead  "not  guilty"  to  the  charges  exhibited  against  him, 
whereupon  said  Cox  applied  to  the  court  to  have  counsel  to  aid  him  in  his  de- 
fence which  the  court  granted,  under  the  restriction  that  the  counsel  for  the 
accused,  or  the  accused  himself  should  propose  all  his  cross  interrogatories  to 
the  witnesses  for  the  prosecution,  through  the  judge  advocate,  and  that  all  ques- 
tions should  be  proposed  to  the  witnesses  for  the  accused  in  the  same  manner, 
and  that  the  defence  of  the  accused  being  made  by  counsel,  must  be  reduced  to 
writing,  and  might  be  read  either  by  himself  or  his  counsel. 

The  court  adjourned  to  vied  to-morrow  at  ten  o'clock. 

VOL.  I. — 34 


if 

jm 


mi'i<.: 


S»''' 


w 


ft"*. 


398 


COURT    MARTIAL. 


[1814. 


April  \Glft,  1814.    The  court  met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 
Present:— 

Captain  Stephen  Decatcb,  President. 
"       Jacoii  Joxes. 
Master  and  Comd.  James  Uiddle. 

Lieut.  Wm.  Cahtek,  Jr. 
"        Thomas  T.  SHunnicK. 
"        BesjV  W.  Booth. 
"        Alex'r.  Claxton. 
"        David  Conxeii. 
"        JoHX  Gailaoiieii. 
"        John  D.  Sloat. 
"        Matthew  C.  Perht. 
THO'S  OLIVER  SELFRIDGE,  ESQ.,  Judge  Advocate. 

Lieutenant  George  W.  Rodgers  being  ordered  on  other  duty,  is  excused  by  the 
president  from  any  further  attendance  upon  this  court  martial. 

Lieutenant  George  liudd,  being  duly  sworn,  was  produced  as  a  witness  for  the 
prosecution,  on  the  trial  of  Lieutenant  William  S.  Cox,  on  the  respective  charges 
exhibited  against  him  as  aforesaid. 

Question  by  the  judge  advocate.  Were  you  on  board  the  United  States  Frigate 
Chesapeake,  on  the  1st  of  June  1813? 

Answer.  I  was,  as  second  lieutenant,  James  Lawrence,  Esq.,  commander,  and 
we  commenced  a  cruise  at  12  A.  M.  with  a  large  sail  in  sight,  which  we  sup- 
posed was  an  enemy's  frigate,  and  we  stood  to  the  eastward  and  fell  in  with, 
and  brought  her  to  action  before  sun-down. 

Question  by  the  same.    How  did  you  engage  her? 

Answer.  We  came  down  on  her  starboard  quarter  and  engaged  her,  having 
the  weather-guage  at  pistol-shot  distance,  and  as  soon  as  we  could  train  our  guns 
upon  her. 

Question  by  the  same.  How  was  the  action  fought,  and  what  was  the  result  of 
it? 

Answer,  At  the  time  we  came  up,  the  enemy's  frigate  was  lying-to,  with 
her  yards  aback.  As  we  came  up,  we  had  considerable  weigh  upon  the  Chesa- 
peake, and,  as  we  ranged  up,  I  perceived  that  we  were  lufhng-to;  the  cannon- 
ading commenced  from  the  enemy  and  was  immediately  returned  from  the 
Chesapeake,  and,  in  my  opinion,  we  lay  broadside  and  broadside  ten  or  twelve 
minutes,  and  fired  three  rounds,  but  I  cannot  positively  slate  the  time  with 
accuracy.  At  this  time,  we  had  ranged  so  far  ahead,  that  my  division  of  guns, 
which  was  the  first,  could  not  be  trained  upon  the  enemy.  Midshipman  Curtiss, 
one  of  the  captain's  aids,  came  to  the  gun-deck  with  orders  from  Captain  Law- 
rence, to  call  the  boarders.  Being  a  boarder,  I  immediately  left  my  quarters  and 
called  out  "boarders  away."  I  then  passed  to  the  second  division  on  the  gun- 
deck,  which  was  Lieutenant  Cox's,  and  looked  for,  but  could  not  find  him,  and 
called  out  "boarders  away,"  and  proceeded  to  the  spar-deck, up  the  main  hatch- 
way, and  gained  the  starboard  side  of  the  quarter-deck,  abaft  the  fife-rail,  and 
saw  a  number  of  our  men  there,  I  suppose  about  twenty  or  twenty-five.  At  this 
moment  I  discovered  people  on  the  quarter-deck,  passing  to  the  forecastle, 
which  I  did  not  know  to  be  the  enemv  until  I  discovered  a  British  uniform. 


''^.. 


t]h. 


CHAP.  XI.] 


COURT    MARTIAL. 


399 


About  twenty-five  or  thirty  men  passed  forward,  which  I  suppose  was  the  first 
division  of  the  enemy's  boarders,  and  suppose  that  as  many  as  sixty  or  seventy 
of  the  enemy  had  now  collected  on  the  quarter-deck.  From  the  time  I  gained 
the  quarter-deck  till  this  time,  which  I  suppose  was  two  or  three  minutes,  there 
was  no  battle  on  either  side,  and  I  perceived  that  the  Chesapeake  had  fallen  foul 
of  the  enemy. 

Question  bt/  (he  same.  How  long  did  you  remain  upon  the  upper  deck,  and  did 
you  see  Lieutenant  Cox  while  you  remained  there  1 

Answer.  From  the  lime  I  gained  the  quarter-deck  till  I  left  it,  six  or  seven 
minutes,  I  did  not  see  Lieutenant  Cox,  and  I  should  have  seen  him  unless  he 
was  abaft  the  enemy. 

Question  by  the  same.  Did  you  see  Lieutenant  Cox  before  the  ship  was  car- 
ried ?  if  not,  when  did  you  see  him  and  what  situation  was  he  in ! 

Answer.  I  did  not  see  him  before  the  ship  was  carried,  and  did  not  see  him 
until  we  were  on  our  passage  to  Halifax. 

Question  by  (he  same.  Did  Lieutenant  Cox  voluntarily  inform  you  after  the 
engagement,  that  he  assisted  in  carrying  Captain  Lawrence  to  the  cockpit  after 
h?  was  wounded]  and  did  he  further  inform  you  that  Captain  Lawrence  was 
displeased  with  him,  and  that  his  commander  ordered  him  to  his  quarters? 

Answer.  In  Halifax,  Lieutenant  Cox  did  inform  me  that  he  assisted  in  carry- 
ing Captain  Lawrence  to  the  cockpit,  and  that  Captain  Lawrence  appeared  to 
be  displeased  with  him  and  did  order  him  to  his  quarters. 

Question  by  the  court.  Please  to  relate  to  the  court  the  precise  words  Lieutenant 
Cox  used ! 

Answer.  He  related  to  me  i.i  Halifax,  that  he  assisted  Captain  Lawrence  after 
he  was  wounded,  in  conveying  him  to  the  cockpit,  and  when  Captain  Lawrence 
discovered  he  was  with  him,  he  rippeared  to  be  displeased  tnd  ordered  him  to 
go  to  his  quarters  immediately. 

Question  by  Judge  advocate.  Was  Lieutenant  Cox  at  his  quarters  at  any  period 
of  the  action  after  you  went  to  his  division  to  order  the  boarders  away? 

Answer.  I  did  not  see  him,  but  I  was  in  a  situation  to  see  him  only  a  part  of 
the  time;  then  he  was  not  at  his  quarters. 

Question  by  (he  same.    Was  Lieutenant  Cox  a  boarder! 

Answer.    My  itnpression  is  that  he  was  not. 

Question  by  Lieutenant  Cox^s  counsel,  proposed  by  the  judge  advocate  to  Lieu- 
tenant Budd,  on  his  cross-examination.  At  the  lime  of  the  conversation  which 
you  have  stated  to  have  haJ  with  Lieutenant  Cox  in  Halifax,  did  not  he  state  as 
a  part  of  the  same  conversation,  that  Captain  Lawrence,  after  he  was  wounded, 
requested  his  assistance  in  carrying  him  below  1 

Ansivcr.     No. 

Question  by  the  same.  Did  Lieutenant  Cox  say  at  the  same  time  that  Captain 
Lawrence  was  displeased  with  him  as  an  individual,  or  displeased  on  account 
of  the  issue  of  the  engagement! 

Answer.  I  understood  that  Lieutenant  Cox's  intention  was  to  state,  that  Cap- 
tain Lawrence  was  displeased  because  he  left  his  quarters  to  carry  him  below 
when  a  man  would  have  answered  as  well;  but  I  have  no  other  means  of  form- 
ing a  judgment  than  by  Lieutenant  Cox  having  uttered  the  precise  words  to 
which  I  have  already  testified. 

Question  by  the  same.    Did  not  Lieutenant  Cox  say  that  Captain  Lawrence 


It 

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Vl 

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'.1 

a 

1,  - 

k!^ 

:\i 

t'i 

J 

i  I 

r-.. 

U 

I'h 


.  >w' 


400 


COURT    MARTIAL. 


[ISll, 


requested  him  to  rpturn  on  deck  after  he  had  left  him  below,  and  fight  the  ship 
till  she  sunk?  and  wore  not  these  the  precise  words  in  which  Mr,  Cox  said  he 
was  ordered  to  return  to  his  quarters  by  Captain  Lawrence? 

Answer.    No! 

Question  III/  Ihe  same.    When  did  liieiitenant  Cox  join  the  Chesapeake? 

Answer.    A  fe.\x  days  before  she  commenced  her  cruise. 

Qiitsfion,  Had  Lieutenant  Cox  ever  been  mustered  at  the  second  division, 
and  if  so,  how  many  times? 

Answer.    I  do  not  know  whether  he  was  ever  mustered  at  the  second  division. 

Question  In/  the  court.  After  you  had  beat  to  quarters  did  you  see  al  any  time 
Lieutenant  Cox  in  the  command  of  the  second  division? 

Answer.  After  we  beat  to  quarters,  I  saw  Lieutenant  Cox  in  command  of  the 
second  division,  which  I  knew  to  be  his  quarters. 

The  court  ac'journcd,  the  morrow  being  Sunday,  to  meet  on  Monday  morninq 
at  ten  o'clock. 


April  18///,  1814,    The  court  met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 
Present: — 

Captain  Steimikv  Dkcatuii,  President. 
"         Jacoii  Jonkh. 
Master  and  Comd.  Jamks  Biimh.k. 

Lieut.  Wm.  Caiitkii,  Jii. 
"         Joiix  T.  SiiriinicK. 
"         Bejtj's  W.  Booth. 
"         Alkx'k  Claxto.v. 
"         Daviii  Coxnf.ii. 
"         John  Gallaciier. 
"        John  D.  Sloat. 
"         Matthew  C.  Pehiit. 

THOMAS  O.  SELFUIDGE,  ESQ.,  Judge  Advocate. 

Acting  Midshipman  Benfn  Tollett  was  produced  as  a  witness  on  the  part  of 
the  prosecution.  Being  duly  sworn  in  the  trial  of  Lieutenant  William  S.  Cox 
on  the  charges  aforesaid. 

Question  hi/  the  judge  advocate.  Were  you  attached  to  the  Chesapeake  on  the 
1st  of  June,  1813,  and  if  so,  in  what  capacity? 

Answer.    I  was  attached  to  her  as  acting  midshipmaii. 

Question  In/  the  same.  In  what  part  of  the  ship  were  you  stationed  in  her  iiction 
with  the  Shannon? 

Anstver.    In  the  third  division  on  the  gun-deck. 

Question  hi/  the  same.  Where  was  Lieutenant  Cox's  station  in  the  action 
between  ths  Chesapeake  and  Shannon? 

Answer.    He  had  charge  of  the  second  division. 

Question  hi/  the  same.  Did  he  remain  with  his  division  during  the  whole  of  the 
engagement,  and  if  not,  when  did  he  leave  it? 

Answer.  I  did  not  see  him  immediately  before  the  action,  nor  when  it  com- 
menced, but  after  Mr.  Ludlow  called  the  boarders  through  the  after  hatchway  I  saw 
Mr.  Cox  bringing  down  Captain  Lawrence.  I  also  saw  Lieutenant  Cox  remove 
the  grating  off  the  steerage  hatchway  and  descend  from  the  gun-deck  with  Cap- 


^-m;i 


ciiAr.  XI.) 


COURT    MARTIAL. 


401 


I  in  her.iction 


in  the  action 


!  whole  of  the 


tail.  Lawrence.  I  did  not  hear  Captain  Lawrence  speak  to  Mr.  Cox,  and  I  did  not 
see  Mr.  Cox  again  until  alter  the  ship  was  carried.  At  the  time  I  saw  Lieute- 
nant Cox  carrying  Captain  Lawtt.ice  below,  many  of  the  men  in  the  second 
division  were  standing  at  their  quarters ;  whether  all  of  them  were  standing 
at  their  quarters,  or  whether  part  of  them  had  gone  to  the  spar-deck,  I  do  not 
know. 

Question  by  the  court.  Was  there  suflicient  time  after  Mr.  Ludlow  cal'.d  the 
boarders,  for  Lieutenant  Cox  to  have  gone  from  his  division  to  the  spar-deck 
and  brougbt  down  Captain  Lawrence? 

Answer.    I  think  there  was  time  suflicient. 

Qi4estion  by  the  same.  Was  there  anything  in  Lieutenant  Cox's  deportme.^.t  at 
the  time  you  saw  him,  evincive  of  fear? 

Answer.    I  do  not  think  that  his  appearance  evinced  fear  in  the  least, 

Quest  iun  by  the  court.  Did  anyone  assist  in  conveying  Captain  Lawrence 
below  ? 

Answer.  There  were  more  persons  than  one  aiding  Lieutenant  Cox.  I  do 
not  know  who  they  were. 

Question  liy  Mr.  Cox's  counsel  proposed  through  the  judge  advocate.  Was  not 
your  back  turned  upon  the  steerage  hatchway  so  that  a  person  might  easily  have 
passed  up  without  your  notice,  and  how  long  did  you  stand  near  the  steerage 
hatchway ! 

Answer.  A  person  might  have  passed  up  the  steerage  hatchway  soon  after 
Mr.  Cox  went  down,  without  my  seeing  him;  I  remained  at  my  quarters  in  the 
third  division,  several  minutes  after  Mr.  Cox  went  down. 

Question /)y  t/te  same.  Did  you  not  see  Lieutenant  Cox  doing  duty  in  your 
division  after  Mr.  Ballard  was  wounded  and  carried  below,  and  after  Mr.  Cox's 
division  had  been  deserted  by  the  men  ? 

Answer.     No. 

Question  by  the  same.  Could  the  guns  of  the  second  division  have  beenb-ought 
to  bear  upon  the  enemy,  after  you  saw  Mr.  Cox  with  Captain  Lawrence  ' 

Answer.    No. 

Midshipman  Delozier  Higginbotham,  being  duly  sworn,  was  produced  as  a  wit- 
ness for  the  prosecution  on  the  trial  of  Lieutenant  William  S.  Cox,  on  the  charges 
aforesaid. 

Question  by  the  judge  advocate.  Were  you  attached  to  the  Chesapeake  on  ihe 
1st  of  June,  1813,  and  if  so.  in  what  capacity,and  where  stationed? 

Answer.  I  was  attached  to  her  in  the  capacity  of  midshipman,  and  was  sta- 
tioned at  the  second  division  on  the  gun-deck  in  the  action  with  the  Shannon. 

Question  by  the  same.    Where  was  Lieutenant  Cox's  station  in  said  action  ? 

Answer.  He  had  charge  of  the  second  division.  He  behaved  well  throughout 
the  action.  He  animated  and  cheered  the  men  as  long  as  the  guns  of  his  divi- 
sion could  be  brought  to  bear.  He  left  his  division  before  Mr.  Curliss  came  to 
call  the  boarders;  at  which  lime,  I  being  a  boarder,  attempted  to  gain  the  spar- 
deck,  by  the  main  hatchway  and  was  driven  back  by  the  enemy's  marines ; 
when  I  attempted  to  gain  it  by  the  fore-scuttle,  at  which  time  I  found  the  Chesa- 
peake's men  jumping  below.  The  men  on  the  gun-deck  having  deserted  their 
quarters  were  crowding  down  tlio  fore-hatchway.  Mr.  Cox  came  forward  to  me 
from  the  after  part  of  the  ship  with  his  cutlass  in  his  hand,  and  said.  "You 
damned  cowardly  sons  of  bitches,  what  are  you  jumping  below  for?"    Witness 

34* 


402 


COIRT    MARTIAL 


[1SIJ. 


S  i 


Emm 


asked  IMr.  Cox  if  he  should  cut  thorn  dcnvul  Mr.  Cox  answered,  "No  sir,  it  Is 
ol'no  use."  I  went  forward  and  ftJUtid  Lieutenant  Uiidd,  wounded,  who  retjuesied 
me  to  show  him  tiie  way  to  the  cockpit,  which  I  accordingly  did,  and  I  did  not 
see  Mr.  Cox  afterwards. 

Quenlion  ////  the  court.  How  many  men  were  on  the  gun-deck  at  tlie  lime  you 
asked  Mr.  Cox  whether  you  should  cut  the  men  down  7 

An.iwer.    As  many  as  thirty  or  forty,  who  had  not  gone  but  were  going  be'ow. 

Qucstiim  hji  the  .same.  Were  any  of  the  men  on  the  gun-deck,  armed,  and  if 
any,  what  number! 

Answer.    About  ten  had  arms,  and  the  rest  none,  that  I  saw. 

Question  bi/  the  court.  Did  Lieutenant  Cox  attempt  to  rally  the  men  on  the 
gun-deck  ;  or  tho^e  who  were  jumping  there  from  the  forecastle] 

Answer.    Nothing  more  than  what  I  have  above  related. 

Questivn  hi/  Judire  (ulivcnte.  After  Mr.  Cox  directed  you  not  to  cut  the  men 
down,  how  many  men  came  from  the  spar  deck  tnrough  the  fure-scutlle'! 

Answer.     I  should  judge  about  fifteen. 

Question  by  counsel  for  Mr.  Cox.  Was  not  Mr.  Cox,  preparatory  to  the  engage- 
ment, mustered  at  the  second  division  for  the  first  time;  and  could  he  know  which 
of  the  men  were  boarders,  and  which  not? 

Answer.    He  was  then  mustered  there  for  the  first  time. 

Question  by  the  same,  At  any  time  during  the  action  did  Mr.  Cox  avoid  danger, 
or  discover  symptoms  cf  fear ! 

Answer.    Not  to  my  knowledge. 

Question  bi/  the  same.  Might  not  Mr.  Cox  have  heard  Mr.  Ludlow's  call  for 
the  boarders,  he  bsing  nearer  to  the  after  hatchway  than  you  ;  and  you  not  have 
heard  it? 

Answer.  Mr.  Cox  was  nearer  the  after  hatchway  than  the  witness,  and  might 
have  heard  Mr.  Ludlow's  call.    Witness  did  not. 

Question  bi/  the  same.  Did  not  the  men  precipitate  themselves  down  the  hatch- 
way m  a  mass,  so  that  they  could  not  be  stopped,  if  they  were  cut  down,  and 
was  there  any  ladder  to  the  hatchway? 

Answer.  There  was  no  ladiler  to  the  hatchwa,^  ,  the  men  were  in  a  mass,  but 
I  do  not  know  that  cutting  down  one  would  not  have  stopped  the  rest. 

Midshipman  James  Curtiss,  having  been  duly  sworn,  was  produced  as  a  wit- 
ness for  the  prosecution,  in  the  trial  of  Lieutenant  William  S.  Cox,  on  the 
charges  aforesaid. 

Question  by  judge  advocate.  On  the  1st  of  June,  1813,  were  you  attached  to  the 
Chesapeake,  if  so,  in  what  capacity,  and  where  stationed? 

Answer.  I  was  attached  to  the  Chesapeake  as  a  midshipman,  and  stationed 
on  the  quarter-deck  as  aid  to  Captain  Lawrence. 

Question  by  the  same.    Did  you  see  Lieutenant  Cox  during  the  engagement? 

Answer.  After  the  ships  were  foul,  Captain  Lawrence  ordered  the  boarders 
to  be  called.  When  the  bugleman  failed,  I  jumped  below  and  informed  the 
officer  on  the  starboard  side  of  the  deck,  whom  I  supposed  had  the  command  of 
the  second  division,  that  the  boarders  were  called;  whether  Mr. Cox  or  not,  I 
cannot  say;  I  then  passed  forward  to  the  first  division  and  informed  Mr.  Budd, 
and  then  returned  to  the  spar  deck  by  the  fore-scuttle ;  Captain  Lawrence  then 
had  been  carried  below.  There  remained  on  the  spar  deck  of  the  Chesapeake, 
twenty  or  thirty  men,  as  nearly  as  I  can  judge,  and  the  enemy,  forty  or  fifty 


m 


^^ai 


I  '■% 


JMI. 


cirAP.  XI.] 


COURT    MARTIAL. 


403 


nen  on  the 


void  danger, 


s,  and  might 


strong,  were  in  possession  of  the  qunrler-dcck,  and  had  advanced  nearly  as  far 
forward  as  the  f,'ani.'way.  I  i)i'lieve  there  was  Miiiie  fij;hiiiii;  at  this  time  on  ihe 
harboard  side  forward.  At  (his  time  I  saw  no  eummissloncd  dliicer  on  the  spiir- 
deck,  and  I  believe  that  .some  of  the  L'hesnpeaUe'si  men  were  not  artnetl.  Alter 
the  ship  was  carried,  I  saw  Mr.  Cox  in  tlie  siecrajjc. 

Qiie.^liiiii  III/  the  ciitirf.  You  stale  that  the  othcer  whom  you  saw  in  the  second 
division  was  on  the  starboard  side  of  the  giin-deck;  which  was  tiie  side  olTfruin 
the  enemy  ;  were  the  men  of  the  seccmd  division  also  on  the  starboard  side  1 

Aiimccr.  Several  of  the  men  were  on  the  starboard  side;  the  men  were  scat- 
tered about,  not  attached  to  their  pnns,  having  left  them. 

Qui'stliin  III/  Ihe  aittrl.  What  interval  of  time  elapsed  between  the  Chesa- 
peake's being  carried,  and  your  seeing  Mr.  Cox  in  the  sleera^'el 

Aimwcr.     According  to  the  best  of  my  recollection,  ten  minutes. 

i^iirstliin  bi/  Ihe  ciiiirl.  When  you  went  below  to  call  the  boarders,  did  you  see 
any  of  the  men  stationed  upon  the  gun-deck  going  below  1 

Aiimver.     I  do  not  recollect  that  I  did. 

Que.ll ion  fur  Mr.  Cox,  by  his  counsel.  Was  Mr.  Cox  in  the  steerage  before  you, 
or  did  he  come  there  afterwards  ] 

Aihswer.    I  do  not  know. 

Queslioii  hfi  the  same.  When  you  supposed  you  saw  a  lieutenant  on  the 
starboard  side,  commanding  the  second  division,  did  you  nol  also  see  Mr.  Hig- 
ginbolham,  and  was  he  not  upon  the  larboard  sidel 

AiiHwer,    Mr.  lligginbotham  was  at  this  time  upon  the  larboard  side. 

Question  by  the  same.  Could  the  guns  of  the  second  division,  at  this  time 
have  been  brought  to  bear  upon  the  enemy? 

Aiisiirr,     I  believe  not. 

Dr.  .John  Dii;  being  duly  sworn,  was  produced  as  a  witness  for  the  prosecution, 
in  the  trial  of  Lieutenant  William  S.  Cox,  upon  the  charges  aforesaid. 

Question  bi/ judi^e  advocate.  Were  you  attached  to  the  Chesapeake  on  the  1st 
June,  181H,  as  surgeon's  mate? 

Answer.     Yes. 

Question  hi/  the  court.  Did  you  see  Captain  Lawrence  carried  into  the  cock- 
pit, and  who  carried  him  ? 

Ansu'tr,  I  saw  him  after  he  passed  the  stanchions  at  the  fool  of  the  stairs,  but 
I  do  not  know  who  carried  him  down ;  I  did  not  see  Mr.  Cox  during  the  action. 

Question  In/  the  same.  Was  your  attendance  upon  Captain  Lawrence  imme- 
diate upon  his  being  carried  into  the  cockpit,  and  did  you  hear  him  give  any 
orders,  and  if  he  had  have  given  orders,  should  you  have  heard  themi 

Anstver.  My  attendance  upon  Captain  Lawrence  was  immediate.  Dr.  Edgar 
was  supporting  him,  when  he  inquired  for  his  aids,  who  were  not  present.  He 
then  order. d  me  to  go  to  the  deck  and  tkll  tiik  men  to  fire  fastkh,  and 
NOT  GIVE  OP  THE  SHIP,  which  I  attempted  to  do,  but  was  prevented  by  the  enemy's 
fire  upon  the  berth  deck.  Had  he  have  given  any  other  orders,  I  think  I  should 
have  heard  them. 

The  court  adjourned  to  meet  to-morrow  at  10  A.  M. 


^'5,, 


404 


couht  mautial. 


[1814. 


iK;^..; 


*   ■'.■■' 


W:- 


'i. 


S'fjj 


'  '■'■„* 


19//i  ^/)n7,  1811.    The  court  mcl  pursuant  to  adjournment. 

I'reMenl;— 

Captain  Strphics  Dkciatuh,  VrenUhnt, 
"         Jai'oii  .Ionkh, 
.Master  and  Comd.  Jamkn  Hi  hulk, 

Lieutenant  W'iliiam  ('artkii,  Jr., 

"  JoHX  T.  HllllHIIICK, 

"  Uemjamik  W.  Uiiotii, 

"  Alkxamiku  Claxtox, 

"  Davm)  Connkii, 

"  JuiiM  Gallaoiieu, 

"  JiiiiM  D.  8l(>at, 

"  Matthew  U.  I'Kniir. 
THOMAS  OLIVER  HELFKIDGE,  ESti.,  Jur/gc  i4i/(o«//f. 

Dr.  Richard  C.  Edgar,  having  been  duly  sworn,  was  produced  as  a  witness 
for  the  prosecution  in  the  trial  of  Lieutenant  William  8.  Cox,  upon  the  charges 
aforesaid,  when  Lieutenant  Cox  filed  the  following  objection  to  the  competency 
of  Dr.  Edgar  as  a  witness,  viz  : 

"  Lieutenant  Cox  objects  to  the  examination  of  Dr.  Edgar,  or  any  witness,  on 
the  part  of  the  prosecution,  other  than  those  contained  in  the  list  of  witnesses 
which  has  been  already  handed  to  him  by  the  judge  advocate,  as  it  would  be 
inconsistent  with  the  established  usage  of  a  coart-martial. 

(Signed)  "  WILLL\M  S.  COX." 

Whereupon  the  court  was  cleared  to  deliberate,  when  the  objection  was  over- 
ruled and  the  witness  ordered  to  be  examined. 

Lieutenant  Cox  was  informed  by  the  court  that  he  should  be  allowed  ample 
time  to  meet  the  evidence,  if  he  should  require  it,  before  the  court  would  call 
upon  him  for  his  defence. 

Question  by  judge  adeocate.  Were  you  surgeon  of  the  Chesapeake  1st  June, 
1813? 

Answer.    I  was. 

Question  by  the  same.  Did  you  see  Lieutenant  Cox  during  the  action  with  the 
Shannon  7 

Answer.    I  did  not  see  him. 

Question  by  the  same.     Who  brought  Captain  Lawrence  to  the  cockpit  ? 

Answer.  Two  persons  brought  him  down,  but  the  lights  in  the  steerage  were 
so  dim  that  I  could  not  see  who  they  were,  and  the  stairs  to  the  cockpit  were  very 
crowded. 

Question  by  the  same.  Did  Captain  Lawrence  give  any  orders  to  the  persons 
who  brought  him  down  ? 

Answer.    Not  in  my  hearing,  and  I  was  present. 

Question  by  the  same.  Did  he  give  any  orders  in  your  hearing  after  he  was 
carried  into  the  cockpit ! 

Answer.  He  gave  me  an  order  to  go  on  deck  and  tell  the  commanding  officer 
to  fight  the  ship  till  she  sunk;  he  immediately  countermanded  the  order  and 
eiirected  me  to  send  the  loblolly  boy  with  the  same  order. 

V''t '/«««  !  /  the  court.  Did  the  persons  who  brought  down  Captain  Lawrence 
aid  you  in  getting  h'minto  the  cockpit? 

Artiirer.  One  of  them  did;  who  he  was  I  do  not  know;  the  other  did  not 
aid  tti^,  and  I  do  not  Know  who  he  was  nor  where  he  went. 


4.;- 


■  «■;■■•'?' 


CHAP.  XI.] 


COURT    MARTIAL. 


405 


on  with  the 


fter  he  was 


Muhhipmiin  Edmund  Rusnell,  \uiv\n^  \iccn  iluly  sworn,  was  produced  ns  a 
wiiiK'ss  liir  iIk-  prdsecuiiofi,  i>n  the  trial  ol  Meutenant  William  8.  Cox,  upon  the 
chai«i'M  nf(iresiii(|. 

QiiesttDH  bii judifeadritcnli-.  Were  yoii  nitachiul  to  tlic  Chesapeake  1st  June, 
1813,  ill  uhat  ca|mcily,  and  where  siaiimu'd  ! 

Answir.  I  was  atinchcd  to  her  in  the  capacity  of  a  midshipman,  and  was 
stationed  at  the  lliinl  division  on  the  giin-deck. 

i^iii.s/i(,n  1)1/  tilt  .sitmi:  Did  you  see  Lieutenant  Cox  durirv^  the  engagement 
with  the  SiKuiiiipn? 

Aii.Mi'i'r.  I  (lid.  After  Captain  Lawrence  was  carried  down,  he  came  to  the 
iliiiieeiiih  fjmi,  where  I  was  Ntationed,  and  where  there  were  but  fe.w  men,  and 
heljied  depress  and  lire  it;  that  and  the  ^\\\\  ait  hi'in<j  the  only  Riins  in  the  bat- 
tery wliic.il  would  bear  on  the  enemy.  'I'liis  was  the  last  gun  (ired.  Lieutenant 
Cox  then  went  away.  I  remained  at  my  i|uarlers  a  short  time,  and,  perceiving 
the  men  t;one  IVotn  the  first  and  second  divisions,  I  went  forward,  where  I  saw 
Lieutenant  Hudd  wounded,  and  the  men  on  the  gun-deck  jumpin;^  below,  and 
tlie  men  on  the  spar-deck  jumpins;  down.  In  about  three  minutes  from  the  time 
Lieutenant  Cox  left  my  gun  he  came  forward,  but  used  no  endeavours  to  rally 
the  men  or  prevent  iheir  going  below.  A|cording  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge 
Could  the  men  have  been  stopped  when  I  first  looked  forward,  the  number  upon 
the  gun  and  spar-decks  would  have  been  sixty.  The  boarders  had  swords  and 
some  of  them  pistols,  but  great  complaint  was  made  of  the  badness  of  the  pis- 
tols, and  that  the  balls  did  not  lit.  Mr.  Hijiginbotham  went  below  with  Lieute- 
nant IJiiild,  and  when  he  came  up  he  asked  Mr.  Cox  whether  he  should  cut 
the  men  down  who  were  going  below,  and  he  answered  "Mo  sir,  it  will  be  of 
no  use."  About  twenty  men  came  from  the  spar-deck  after  this.  At  this  time 
Lieutenant  Cox  was  looking  down  the  iiatchway,  and  there  were  no  men  on  the 
gun-deck. 

l^iiislinii  hi/  the  I'ditrt.  If  there  were  no  men  on  the  gun-deck,  why  did  Mr. 
Iligginbiithain  re(iuest  of  Lieutenant  Cox,  permission  to  "cut  the  men  down  V 

Aimwer,  He  ruiuested  permissiun  to  cut  the  men  down  who  were  coming 
from  the  spar  deck. 

Qitcstiiiii  III/  till'  Slime.  Did  Mr.  Cox,  Mr.  Ili^giiibotham  or  yourself,  when  you 
saw  there  were  no  men  on  the  gun-deck,  make  ;;ny  eliort  to  gain  the  spar-deck ' 

Answer,  We  did  not,  Mr.  Budd,  when  he  came  down,  observed  that  the  ship 
was  carried,  but  ihis  was  not  in  the  hearing  of  Mr.  Cox. 

i^iiestiun  III/  jn(li;c  admnile.  Was  there  any  alleinpt  made  by  Mr.  Cox  to  put 
the  grating  upcm  the  hatchway  1 

Ansiiir.     None  ihat  I  saw,  and  it  was  not  put  on. 

QtusHiii)  III/  l.iiuteiuint  Ciix's  aniiisil.  When  Lieutenant  Cox  assisted  at  your 
gun,  bad  not  liieutenant  Ballard,  the  commanding  ollicer  of  the  division,  been 
carried  l"'low] 

AiisH-'i:    He  had  been. 

(^iiestiim  1)1/  the  same.  Did  the  enemy  take  immediate  pt)ssession  of  tlie  gun- 
deck  al'ie  Mr.  Cox's  answer  to  Mr.  Iligginbothain,  and  cuuUl  the  Chesapeake's 
men  have  bei-n  slopped,  if  cut  down  ] 

A  isivir.  They  took  possessidn  a  i'ow  moments  after.  I  do  not  think  the  men 
C(  .Id  have  been  stopped.  We  remained  upon  the  gun-deck  someliine.  when 
the  enemy  caiui'  'I.     n  and  ordered  us  oil';  I  went,  but  did  not  see  Mr.  Cox. 


CS'.  '  .. 


'.'f.^-'-;-'-'."' 


l,.j,, „,:.,,    ,, 


406 


COURT    MARTIAL. 


[ISM. 


Question  by  the  same.  Would  any  attempt  to  rally  the  men  on  the  gun-deek 
at  that  lime  have  been  successful  ;  or  were  there  any  men  there  to  be  rallied  ? 

Answer.    There  were  none  to  rally  on  the  gun-deck. 

Question  by  the  same.  Were  there  any  gratmgs  near  the  fore-hatchway  on  the 
gun-deck  ? 

Answer.    None  that  I  saw. 

Question  by  the  same.  Did  Mr.  Cox  avoid  danger,  or  exhibit  any  symptoms  of 
fear  during  the  action  ? 

Answer.  He  did  not  avoid  danger,  nor  discover  any  symptoms  of  fear  to  my 
knowledge. 

Midshipman  William,  Steele,  being  duly  sworn,  was  produced  as  a  witness 
for  the  prosecution,  in  the  trial  of  Lieutenant  William  S.  Cox,  on  the  charges 
aforesaid. 

Question  by  judge  advocate.  Were  you  attached  to  the  Chesapeake  on  the  1st 
June,  1813,  in  what  capacity,  and  where  stationed  ? 

Answer.  I  was  attached  to  her  in  the  capacity  of  midshipman,  and  was  sta- 
tioned on  the  berth-deck. 

Question  by  the  same.  Did  you  see  Mr.  Cox  during  the  action  with  the  Shannon  1 

Answer.  I  did  not.  I  saw  Captaj^  Lawrence  carried  down ;  but  who  was 
with  him,  I  don't  know. 

Question  by  the  court.    When  did  you  first  see  Mr. Cox, after  the  engagement? 

Answer.  After  the  action,  a  British  officer  called  for  the  surviving  commanding 
officer  of  the  Chesapeake,  when  Mr.  Cox  came  to  the  hatchway;  at  this  time  all 
the  surviving  otiicers  were  in  the  steerage. 

Midshipman  John  D.  Fisher,  being  duly  sworn,  was  produced  as  a  witness  for 
the  prosecution,  in  the  trial  of  Lieutenant  William  S.  Cox,  upon  the  charges 
aforesaid. 

Question  by  the  judge  advocate.  Were  you  attached  to  the  Chesapeake  on  the 
1st  June,  1813,  in  what  capacity,  and  where  stationed] 

Answer.  I  was  attached  to  her  as  a  midshipman,  and  stationed  on  the  fore- 
castle. 

Question  by  the  same.  Did  you  see  Lieutenant  Cox  during  the  engagement 
with  the  Shannon  ? 

Answer.    I  did  not. 

The  court  adjourned  to  meet  to-morrow  at  10  o'clock. 


'■5»  V.  '.i      ,,K 


20th  April,  1814.    The  court  met  pursuant  to  adjournment. 
P/esent  :— 

Captain  Stephkn  Dkcatih,  President. 
"         Jacoii  Jones. 
Master  and  Comd.  Jamks  Biddlk. 

Lieut.  Wm.  Cautkh,  Jk. 

"  JdUN    T.  8llL'IIUIl'K. 

"  Bk.nj'n  W,  Booth. 

"  Alex.  Claxtox. 

"  Divin  CossKU. 

"  John  Gallagiiku. 

"  Joii.v  D.  Sloat. 

"  Mattiikw  C.  PF.iiiir. 
THOMAS  OLIVER  SELI'UIDGE,  ESQ.,  Judge  Advocate. 


i-l     • 


CHAP.  XI.] 


COURT    MARTIAL. 


407 


!  a   witness 


Midshipman  Horatio  Bales,  being  duly  sworn,  wa.s  produced  a.s  a  witness  for 
the  prosecution,  in  the  trial  of  Lieutenant  William  S.  Cox,  upon  the  charges 
aforesaid. 

Question  by  the  judge  advocate.  On  the  1st  of  June,  1813,  were  you  attached 
to  the  Chesapeake;  in  what  capacity;  and  where  stationed? 

Answer.  I  was  attached  to  her  in  the  capacity  of  midshipman,  and  was  sta- 
tioned at  the  third  division  on  the  gun-deck. 

Question  bi/  the  same.  Did  you  see  Lieutenant  Cox  during  the  engagement 
with  the  Shannon] 

Answer.  I  did  see  him  in  the  engagement,  and  soon  after  the  action  com- 
menced, in  the  command  of  the  second  division  upon  the  gun-deck.  When  he 
left  that  station  I  do  not  know, but  just  before  the  cannonading  was  discontinueu, 
and  after  I  had  carried  Mr.  Ballard  to  the  after-hatchway,  and  when  I  was  re- 
turning to  my  division,  I  saw  Lieutenant  Cox  with  others,  aiding  in  carrying 
Captain  Lawrence  below ;  and  I  saw  Mr.  Cox  step  over  the  combings  of  the 
hatchway.  At  the  time  I  saw  Captain  Lawrence  in  the  arms  of  Lieutenant  Cox 
and  others,  the  men  in  the  second  division  were  not  at  their  guns.  As  my  gun, 
which  was  the  aft  one,  was  disabled,  I  went  to  the  13th  gun,  which  was  the  last 
fired,  but  did  not  aid  in  firing  it.  Shortly  after  this,  in  about  three  seconds,  I 
was  informed  that  the  boarders  were  called,  by  a  singing  out  upon  the  gun-deck 
"  boarders  away."  I  immediately  attempted  to  gain  the  spar-deck  to  aid  in  re- 
pelling boarders,  but  could  not  succeed.  At  this  time  there  were  but  few  men 
on  the  gun-deck,  and  they  were  running  below.  I  did  not  see  Mr.  Cox  after  I 
saw  him  step  over  the  combings  of  the  hatchway  during  the  action. 

Question  by  the  court.    Was  the  13th  gun  of  the  third  division  fired  after  yoa 

left  it;  and  if  it  had  been  fired  after,  were  you  in  a  situation  to  have  known  it? 

Answer.    It  was  fired  about  the  time  that  I  left  it.    It  is  my  belief  that  this 

was  the  last  gun,  as  I  remained  on  the  gun-deck,  and  I  heard  no  report  of  a  gun 

after  that. 

Question  by  the  same.    Did  you  leave  the  same  persons  at  the  13th  gun,  whom 
you  found  at  it  1 
Answer.    I  did. 

Question  by  the  same.  Did  you  see  any  officer  at  or  near  the  13th  gun  at  the 
time  you  returned? 

Answer.  I  saw  acting  Midshipman  FoUet  between  12th  and  13lh  guns,  and  I 
saw  no  other  ofiicer. 

Question  by  the  same.  Is  it  not  possible  that  an  officer  or  officers  might  have 
been  at  the  13ih  gun,  working  it,  and  you  not  have  seen  them. 

Answer.  An  officer  or  officers  might  have  been  there  and  I  not  have  seen 
them. 

Question  by  the  judge  advocate.  Was  it  possible  for  Lieutenant  Cox,  after  your 
return,  when  you  saw  him  stepping  over  the  combings  of  the  hatchway,to  have 
passed  to  the  13ih  gun  without  your  having  seen  him;  and  if  he  had  gone  to  the 
cockpit,  was  there  sufficient  time  for  him  to  have  descended  and  returned  before 
the  gun  was  fired? 

Answer.    It  was  possible  for  Lieutenant  Cox  to  have  jiassed  to  the  13th  gun 
without  my  having  seen  him,  but  if  he  did  go  to  the  cockpit,  it  is  my  belief  that 
he  could  not  have  gone  down  and  returned  before  the  gun  was  fired. 
Midshipman  Benjamin  Tollett  called  again  for  the  prosecution. 


ft.vt  -1-  v.fw , 

lf?S<;'v'  •■■,'• 


■>  ,,\.- 


:r'ViV': 


408 


COURT    MARTIAL. 


[1S14. 


Qne.slion  In/  fhe  court.  Were  you  in  a  situation  to  observe  who  were  working 
the  13th  gun  aCier  you  saw  Captain  Lawrence  passed  below  ? 

Answer,  My  station  was  at  the  11th  jrun,  which  was  the  first  of  the  third  di- 
vision;! perceived  that  men  were  working  that  gun, but  who  they  were,  I  cannot 
tell. 

Qiicslinn  hi/  the  judge  advocate.  Were  you  between  the  12th  and  13th  guns,  at 
any  time  during  the  action  ? 

Answer,    I  was  not. 

Samuel  Livermore,  Esq.,  being  duly  sworn,  was  produced  as  a  witness  for  the 
prosecution  in  the  trial  of  Lieutenant  William  S.  Cox  on  the  aforesaid  charges. 

Question  hi/  the  judge  advocate.  Were  you  attached  to  the  Chesapeake  on  the 
Isl  of  June,  1813,  and  if  so,  in  what  capacity,  and  where  stationed? 

Answer.  I  was  on  board  of  her  as  a  volunteer;  I  was  rated  as  chaplain,  and 
was  stationed  on  the  quarter-deck. 

Question  by  the  same.  Did  you  see  Lieutenant  Cox  during  the  engagement  of 
the  Chesapeake  and  Shannon  1 

Answer.    No. 

Question  1)1/  the  same.  What  voluntary  declarations  has  Lieutenant  Cox  made 
to  you,  or  in  your  hearing,  of  the  circunistances  which  took  place  in  the  action 
with  the  Shannon,  relative  to  himself] 

Answer.  After  our  arrival  in  Halifax,  I  heard  Mr.  Cox  voluntarily  declare  in 
presence  of  some  of  the  oflicers  of  the  Chesapeake,  but  whom,  I  cannot  recol- 
lect, that  when  he  heard  the  boarders  called,  he  went  up  and  fouiul  Captain 
Lawrence  wounded,  and  assisted  in  carrying  him  below.  I  have  no  recollection 
that  he  staled  that  he  returned  to  the  spar-deck, or  ailempted  so  to  do,  except  that 
he  informed  me  he  was  crowded  down  by  the  boarders  of  the  enemy. 

Question  by  Mr.  Cox.  Did  not  Lieut.  Cox,  in  the  course  of  that  conversation, 
say  that  he  assisted  Captain  Lawrence,  in  carrying  him  below,  at  his  own 
request! 

Answer.    Not  to  my  recollection. 

Question  by  the  same.  Did  you  ever  hear  Captain  Lawrence  mention  the 
conduct  of  Lieutenant  Cox,  during  the  action,  in  terms  of  disapprobation] 

Ansivcr.  No.  After  the  action  I  was  confined  in  Mr.  Ludlow's  state-room 
till  we  arrived  in  Halifax,  and  I  had  no  conversation  with  Captain  Lawrence. 

Question  by  judge  advocate.  When  Mr.  Cox  stated  to  you,  or  in  your  hearing, 
that  he  was  crowded  down  by  the  enemy's  boarders,  did  he  designate  the  place 
from  which  he  was  crowded,  or  at  what  period  in  t]ie  action  it  took  place  ] 

Answer.     Not  to  my  recollection. 

The  evidence  for  the  prosecution  was  here  closed.  Whereupon  Lieutenant 
Cox  re(juested  the  court  to  grant  him  three  days  to  enable  him  to  procure  evi- 
dence and  prepare  his  defence,  which  was  granted  by  the  court. 

The  court  adjourned  to  meet  to-morrow  at  10  o'clock. 

The  court  having  been  occupied  with  other  business  from  April  2flth  to  April 
'-!6ih,  1814,  and  liieutenant  Matthew  C.  I'erry  having  been  excused,  the  court 
proceeded  in  hearing  the  defence  of  Lieutenant  William  S.  Cox  upon  the 
charges  aforesaid. 

2C,lh  April,  1814. 

Midshipman  John  D,  Fw//er,  being  duly  sworn,  who  was  produced  as  a  wit- 


u-f,, 


CHAP.  XT.] 


COURT    MARTIAL. 


409 


ness  for  the  proseculioii  on  the  trial  of  Lieutenant  William  S.  Cox,  was  now- 
called  by  Lieutenant  Cox  and  examined  by  his  counsel. 

Question  hif  Lieutenant  Cox's  counsel.  Did  not  Lieutenant  Budd,  at  the  call 
lor  boarders,  gain  the  upper  deck  by  the  fore-scuttle  ] 

Answer.  At  the  second  call  for  boarders,  I  s  w  Lieutenant  Budd  Rain  the 
spar-deck  by  the  fore-scuttle,  and  he  said  "  Boarders  away,"  and  immediately 
ran  aft  upon  the  starboard  side,  and  I  followed  him. 

Question  hi/  the  court.  Did  you  see  Mr.  Curtiss  come  up  by  the  forecastle 
when  he  went  down  to  call  the  boarders  I 

Answer.    I  did  not  see  Mr.  Curtiss  when  he  came  up. 

Question  by  the  some.  After  you  saw  Mr.  Budd  go  aft,  did  not  Mr.  Curtiss  go 
forward  to  haul  on  board  the  fore-tack  ? 

Answer.  Mr.  Curtiss  came  forward  with  orders  to  haul  on  board  the  fore-tack, 
two  or  three  minutes  before  Mr.  Budd  gained  the  spar-deck  by  the  fore-scuttle, 
al'ier  which  I  did  not  see  Mr.  Curtiss  go  forward,  and  no  orders  to  that  cfl'ect 
were  sent  forward  by  any  person  to  my  knowledge  after  Mr.  Budd  came  up  by 
the  fore-scuttle. 

Question  fji/  the  same.  Did  Mr.  Budd  appear  to  be  wounded  when  he  came  up 
by  the  fore-scuttle  T 

Answer.     No. 

W'illidni  Gardner,  seaman,  being  duly  sworn,  was  produced  as  a  witness  by 
I/ieuienant  William  S.  Cox,  in  his  trial  on  the  charges  aforesaid. 

Question  b//  prisoner's  counsel.  On  the  1st  June,  1813,  were  you  on  board  the 
Chesapeake,  in  what  capacity,  and  where  quartered,  in  the  action  with  the 
Shannon ] 

Answer.  I  was  on  board  the  Chesapeake  in  the  capacity  of  seaman,  and  was 
quartered  in  the  second  division  on  the  gun-deck,  and  was  captain  of  gun  No. 
8,  in  said  division. 

Question  by  the  same.  At  the  first  call  for  boarders  which  reached  your  divi- 
sion, did  Mr.  Cox  go  immedintely  to  the  spar-deck  by  the  main  hatchway,  and 
did  you  follow  himl 

Answer.    He  did  go  and  I  followed  him. 

Question  by  the  same.  Who  gave  the  first  call  for  boarders  which  reached 
your  division  T 

Ansii^er.  Ijieutenant  Ludlow,  from  the  spar-deck,  at  the  main-hatchway,  and 
Mr.  Cox  immediately  called  away  his  division. 

Questimiby  the  same.  Did  you  see  Lieutenant  Budd  at  your  divisional  any 
time  during  the  engagement] 

Answer.     No. 

Question  by  the  court.    Were  you  a  boarder  7 

Answer.    I  was  a  first  boarder. 

Question  by  judge  advocate.  When  you  first  went  up  after  Lieutenant  Cox, 
what  number  of  the  enemy  were  on  the  quarter-deck  of  the  Chesapeake  ? 

Answer.    Twelve  or  fourteen,  and  others  coming  on  the  larboard  quarter. 

Question  by  the  same.  How  many  Americans  were  there  upon  the  quarter- 
deck of  the  Chesapeake  when  you  came  up  after  Mr.  Cox  1 

Answer.    In  my  opinion  there  were  as  many  as  forty  or  fifty  men. 

Question  by  the  same.    Did  you  see  any  men  upon  the  gangway  or  forecastle? 

Answer.    Some  in  both  places,  but  how  many  I  do  not  know. 

VOL.  J. — 35 


f^t^ 


mm: 

,7         •     iV, 


,>>"  ■-'' 

■.*!» 


K:r 

^iljfjv'   ,  , 

410 


COURT    MARTIAL. 


[APRIL,  1814. 


Question  by  the  same.  Did  you  see  Captain  Lawrence  when  you  came  up, 
and  where  was  he  standing  1 

Answer.  I  did  see  him  leaning  on  the  binnacle,  on  the  starboard  side,  and  he 
was  wounded. 

Question  bi/  the  same.    Did  you  hear  him  give  any  orders  after  you  came  up  ? 

Answer.  I  did,  but  the  noisie  and  confusion  were  so  great  that  I  do  not  know 
what  they  were. 

Question  by  the  same.  When  Mr.  Cox  came  up,  where  did  he  go,  what  orders 
did  he  give,  and  what  did  he  do? 

Answer.  As  soon  as  he  came  oft'  the  ladder  he  ordered  the  boarders  to  "  rush 
on,"  and  went  aft  himself.  I  did  not  see  him  again,  and  I  do  not  know  what  else 
he  did. 

Question  by  the  same.  How  long  was  it  after  you  gained  the  upper  deck,  be- 
fore you  were  disabled  1 

Answer.    A  few  minutes,  as  near  as  I  can  judge,  from  five  to  ten. 

Question  by  the  same.  Had  Lieutenant  Cox,  when  he  went  aft,  remained  upon 
the  quarter-deck,  either  fighting  or  giving  orders,  should  you  not  have  seen  or 
heard  him  before  you  were  disabled T 

Answer.  There  were  so  much  noise  and  confusion  on  the  quarter-deck,  that 
I  could  not  distinguish  one  man's  voice  from  another,  and  I  did  not  see  him. 


DEFENCE. 

Mr.  President,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Court  Martial: — 

The  unfortunate  issue  of  the  engagement  between  the  Chesapeake  and  the 
Shannon,  has  given  rise  to  many  prejudiced  opinions  among  some,  and  has 
excited  a  great  solicitude  among  others,  to  ascertain  the  immediate  causes  of 
that  misfortune;  for  the  belief  has  been  strong,  that  the  event  of  an  inquiry 
would  clear  from  all  disgrace  the  American  naval  character,  and  vindicate  from 
reproach  the  conduct  of  the  American  officers  who  suffered  and  shared  the  mor- 
tification of  that  defeat.  Confident,  as  I  am,  that  this  will  be  the  result,  I  am  far 
from  declining  a  scrutiny,  however  minute,  which  I  trust  will  place  me  beyond 
the  possibility  of  suspicion.  If,  from  these  fair  and  honourable  motives,  which 
coincide  precisely  with  my  wishes,  I  am  arraigned  before  you,  I  have  reason  to 
be  gratified.  But  if  the  object  be  to  heal  the  wounded  honour,  or  reinstate  the 
naval  pride  of  the  nation  by  offering  me  a  sacrifice,  I  lament  that  some  kind 
shot,  commissioned  for  my  death,  had  not  saved  to  your  feelings  and  to  mine 
the  necessity  of  this  meeting.  If,  because  I  have  survived,  and  found  no  fault 
with  others,  I  am  to  bear  the  odium  of  the  defeat,  I  cannot  but  consider  the  pro- 
secution as  ungenerous;  (or,  if  the  public  feelings  have  been  wounded  at  all, 
mine  have  been  more  so.  But  a  constitutional  freedom  from  suspicion  inclines 
me  to  adopt  the  more  charitable  presumption  and  urges  me  to  embrace  with 
eagerness  this  opportunity  of  claiming  your  attention  to  the  conclusive  proofs  of 
my  innocence. 

Many  accusations  are  brought  against  me;  but  for  the  sake  of  brevity  and 
method,  I  veniut.'  to  include  them  under  the  general  charges  of  cowardice  and 
neglect  of  duty.  For  desertion  from  quarters,  disobedience  of  orders,  and  the 
specifications,  charged  under  the  head  of  unofficer-like  conduct,  are  only  difter- 


CHAP.  XL] 


COX'S    DEFENCE. 


411 


what  orders 


)er  deck,  be- 


ent  instances  of  the  same  neglect.  Many  ot'  the  charges  are  repetitions,  and  the 
same  conduct  is  laid  in  diflerent  places,  with  a  little  variation  of  language,  as  a 
distinct  offence.  This  is  sufficifntiy  obvious  upon  a  cursory  reading;  but  this 
is  not  all;  the  charges  are  contradictory.  I  say  this  not  merely  to  point  your 
attention  to  the  tact,  but  to  take  an  opportunity  of  reminding  you  of  the  nume- 
rous instances,  in  which,  by  these  very  means,  innocence  has  been  providentially 
rescued  from  tb"  deep  malice  of  a  false  accuser.  The  specifications  under  the 
second  charge  state,  that  I  was  seen  by  my  commanding  officer,  .lames  Law- 
rence, Esq.,  in  the  cockpit,  ami  by  him  ordered  to  return;  while  the  first  specifi- 
cation under  the  4th  charge  slates,  that  I  siccompanied  the  person  of  my  disabled 
commander  to  the  gun-deck,  and  there  continued. 

I  am  charged  with  cowardice,  in  deserting  my  quarters.  The  testimony  of 
every  witness  who  had  the  means  of  knowledge  has  been,  that  I  remained  at  my 
quarters  at  least  until  liieutenant  Ludlow  made  the  first  call  for  boarders.  'J'his 
was  heard  by  some  and  not  by  others.  The  cry  of  "  Boarders  away"  is,  to  a  young 
ollicer,  an  animating  cry;  and  whether  the  accused  heard  Lieutenant  Ludlow, 
or  received  the  first  informaticm  from  Mr.  Curtiss,  it  is  certain  that  he  heard  the 
order  before  it  reached  Mr.  Budd.  The  testimony  of  this  last  gentleman  con- 
sists partly  of  his  own  knowledge,  and  partly  of  my  conversation  with  him  at 
Halifax.  The  substance  of  the  first  is  this;  that  when  he  passed  from  his  own 
division  to  the  main  hatchway,  after  the  action  had  lasted  ten  or  twelve  minutes, 
he  did  not  see  me  there,  though  he  looked  round  with  that  view,  and  that  he  did 
not  afterwards  see  me  on  the  upper  deck.  If  my  division  was  filled  with  men, 
it  would  have  been  difTicult  for  him  (in  his  haste  to  head  the  boarders),  to  have 
seen  mo.  If  it  was  deserted,  my  duty  required  my  presence  elsewhere.  And  why 
should  Mr.  Budd  have  been  anxious  to  find  me!  Was  it  to  leave  his  own  divi- 
sicm  in  my  charge  ?  That  would  have  been  as  much  a  desertion  of  my  station, 
as  any  of  which  I  am  accused.  Was  it  that  he  suspected  my  fidelity  as  an  ofK- 
cerl  I  had  but  just  joined  the  frigate,  and,  if  in  former  service  my  character 
had  been  beyond  suspicion,  I  trust  that  in  this  short  acquaintance  I  had  given 
him  no  reuMMi  of  distrust.  The  call  for  hoarders  he  itiu'-'t  have  supposed  had 
reached  me,  before  it  arrived  at  him.  V\'hy  then  delay  an  instant  in  a  fruitless 
search  for  me  !  The  reniaiiuter  of  his  testimony  consists  of  a  recital  of  my  own 
declarations  at  Halifax ;  and  here  I  may  be  permitted  to  remark  that  though  the 
voluntary  coiit'essidii  of  a  person  accused,  made  afte.'  the  accusation,  and  when 
he  knows  the  use  that  will  be  made  of  his  declarations,  is  the  highest  evidence 
against  him,  yet  the  occasional  imperfect  and  unguarded  conversationsof  a  man, 
who  has  no  ■suspicion  that  he  is  to  be  arrested,  are  of  an  entirely  ditTerent  charac- 
ter. In  the  one  instance,  appropriate  and  precise  language  is  carefully  used;  in 
the  other,  thoui^htless  and  mutilated  expressions  are  constantly  escaping.  Such 
discourse  with  my  companions  at  Halifax  was  common  and  without  reserve. 
There  were  other  witnesses  also  that  were  not  called  upon  by  the  prosecution, 
and  could  not  be  by  myself,  who  could  testify  to  entire  conversations,  in  which 
the  reason  for  my  conduct  was  stated,  and  yet  that  one,  who  is  found  upon  the 
record  of  the  v'ourt  of  inquiry  to  have  stated  the  conversation  in  a  manner  the 
least  favourable  to  me,  is  called  on,  and  the  others  not.  Besides,  am  I  first  to 
be  convicted  of  such  extreme  f(jlly,  as  to  confess  away  my  character  as  an  offi- 
cer, in  an  enemy's  country,  and  that  not  to  a  stranger,  but  to  one,  on  whose 
rf port  I  should  be  reputed  a  coward  ?     If  such  idio"y  has  marked  my  conduct, 


/'"''V  •'*•;* 


^■''' '  •■' 


412 


COX'S    DEFENCE. 


[APRIL,  1S14, 


tf 


I  am  safe ;  for  I  am  legally  incapable  of  commiiting  a  crime.  It  must  have  been, 
either  that  a  full  statement  was  not  made  by  me  at  the  time,  or  tliat  it  was  not 
fully  understood  and  recollected.  The  declaration  is  stated  to  have  been,  that  I 
assisted  in  conveying  Captain  Lawrence  to  the  cockpit.  If  carrying  him  part  of 
the  way,  and  delivering  him  into  the  hands  of  others,  before  he  reached  the 
cockpit, be,  as  it  undoubtedly  is,  to  assist  in  conveying,  I  was  correctly  understood. 
Pocior  Dix  did  not  see  me  there.  Doctor  Edgar  who  came  to  the  head  of  the 
ladder,  did  not  see  me.  Mr.  Steel,  who  was  at  the  steerage  when  Captain  Law- 
rence was  carried  down,  did  not  see  me;  nor  was  !  seen  by  the  men  who 
crowded  the  ladder  as  they  carried  down  the  others,  who  wer"  wounded;  yet  I 
was  seen  and  known  after  this  by  others  on  the  gun-deck.  That,  after  coming 
from  the  spar-ileck  with  Captain  Lawrence,  in  stepping  over  the  combings  of 
the  steerage  hatch  and  stooping  to  accommodate  my  burthen,  Mr.  Follett  may 
have  lost  me  for  a  moment  is  probable;  but  he  accounts  for  it  himself.  That 
Captain  La'.i'rence  was  angry  is  equally  true,  but  it  is  hoped  that  the  inference 
drawn  by  the  witness,  that  he  was  angry  with  me,  because  a  sailor  might  have 
rendered  him  the  same  service,  is  different  from  the  inference  which  will  be 
drawn  by  the  court.  Well  may  I  join  in  the  general  grief  at  the  death  of  iha: 
naval  hero,  whose  testimony,  if  he  were  alive,  would  refute  this  charge.  I  knew 
Captain  Lawrence  intimately  and  knew  him  as  a  man.  I  had,  as  the  court 
know,  sailed  with  him  before,  in  the  Argus,  and  Hornet.  In  the  service  of  my 
country,  I  had  never  sailed  under  any  other  commander.  He  recommended  me 
!o  promotion,  and  it  was  through  his  means,  and  the  opinion  he  entertained  of 
my  merit,  that  I  obtained  my  rank  and  commission  as  lieutenant.  My  regard 
for  him  was  reciprocated,  and  I  was  proud  of  it,  and  I  assisted  him,  in  this  in- 
stance, from  feelings  of  gratitude,  which,  long  and  habitually  exercised  towards 
him,  had  become  powerful  and  rapid  as  instinct.  I  assisted  him,  too  (a?  I  claim), 
at  his  own  request,  and  I  afterwards  bewailed  his  death  with  tears.  Was  this 
cowardice,  or  disobedience  of  orders  1  Was  the  man  on  whom  Nelson  leaned, 
when  he  was  wounded,  and  who  kissed  him  when  he  died,  a  coward,  or  a  de- 
serter from  his  duty  ?  or  was  it  said  that  a  sailor  would  have  done  as  well  ?  To 
follow  the  bent  of  amiable  feelings  cannot  be  inconsistent  with  the  character  of 
an  officer,  or  a  breach  of  the  Articles  of  War.  If  a  ccmnion  sailor  could  have 
done  as  well,  have  you  ascertained  that  a  common  sailor  was  to  be  fourd? 

I  am  charged  with  cowardice,  and  yet  to  support  another  charge,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  resort  to  a  specification  ,vhich  contradicts  it,  for  it  is  there  said  that  I 
quitted  my  quarters  and  repaired  to  the  upper-deck.  'J'his  was  no  skulking 
place  for  a  coward,  anil  hail  the  event  of  the  contest  been  diifereiit,  many  of 
these  acts  with  which  I  am  charged,  would  have  enhanced  my  merit  in  the  pub- 
he  estimation. 

You  are  satisfied,  gentlemen,  that  I  was  no  coward.  My  guns  had  ceased  tv 
bear:  and  my  men  took  the  opportunity  of  deserting  instead  of  following  me,  as 
I  Hew  at  the  call  for  the  boarders,  to  the  spar-deck. 

The  other  charges  against  me  amount  in  some  shape  or  other  lo  7icgkc/  oj 
ilu/j/ ;  as  that  I  was  seen  in  the  cockpit  and  there  received  orders  which  I  did 
not  execute.  That  Captain  Lawrence  saw  me  there,  or  gave  me  either  there  or 
elsewhere,  any  orders,  at  any  time,  which  I  did  not  zealously  endeavour  to  exe-- 
cute,  or  that  I  have  committed  any  such  fault,  as  is  alleged  in  the  specification 


'  f . 


CHAP.  XI.] 


COX'S    DEFENCE. 


413 


i-^ 


under  the  2d  charge,  has  not  been  proved,  is  not  true,  and  is  directly  contra- 
dicted by  the  whole  testimony  before  the  court. 

I  imajrine  such  a  stale  of  facts  as  I  insist  the  testimony  proves.  An  officer 
who  has  just  gained  the  ship,  is  mustered  at  his  division  for  the  Jirst  time  pre- 
paratory to  an  engagement,  where  the  faces  and  particular  duties  of  the  several 
men  are  unknown  to  him.  The  list  of  names  which  is  furnished  him  cannot 
enable  him  to  distinguish  persons;  for  if  they  were  all  strangers,  he  could  not 
refer  these  names  to  the  individuals  around  him,  or  to  the  characters  or  capaci- 
ties ill  which  they  acted.  At  the  call  for  boarders,  a  considerable  number  leave 
his  division  with  him,  whom  he  at  first  innocently  mistaUes  for  boarders.  The 
men  themselves  know  belter;  the  sympathy  of  terror  is  contagious;  the  division 
is  deserted,  and  the  officer  is  astonished  to  see  the  men  precipitate  themselves 
below  in  a  mass,  without  attempting  to  accompany  him  to  the  upper-deck,  to 
which  it  is  said  to  be  unofiicer-like  conduct  in  him,  thus  circumstanced,  to  repair. 
It  would  be  no  desertion  of  duty  to  go  where  his  duty  called  him,  nor  could  it  be 
a  crime  to  leave  his  quarters  if  his  duty  required  it.  What  then  was  his  duty  ? 
Was  it  to  remain  a  fixture  by  the  side  of  a  deserted,  disabled  cannon  that  could 
not  be  brought  to  bear  upon  the  enemy;  the  nominal  commander  of  an  empty  or 
a  useless  division !  or  was  il,  to  repair  to  a  place  where  there  were  fighting  men 
engaged,  and  where  information  for  his  immediate  conduct  might  be  obtained. 
What  lie  did  from  a  sense  of  duty  and  the  impulse  of  the  moment,  he  trusts 
your  deliberate  judgment  will  approve.  Some  of  the  testimony  is  said  to  be 
introduced  to  show  that  if  there  hatl  been  more  oflicers  and  men  on  the  spar- 
deck,  the  ship  would  not  have  been  carried;  and  yet  I  am  censured  for  having 
repaired  to  the  spar-deck  at  all,  even  when  the  guns  of  my  division  could  not  be 
brought  to  bear. 

It  may  be  asked,  why,  after  assisting  Captain  Lawrence  below,  I  did  not  return 
to  the  spar-deck  ! 

If  one  of  the  specifications  be  true,  that  Captain  Lawrence  ordered  me  to  my 
division,  it  is  answered  enough.  But  if  this  charge  is  abandoned,  the  conclusive 
answer  to  the  inquiry  is,  it  was  impossible,  for  no  man  it  is  believed  after  this 
period,  gained  the  spar-deck  from  below.  I  say  that  I  was  repelled  in  my  at- 
tempts, as  the  rest  state  themselves  to  have  been,  and  if  ii  is  asked  where  i>  the 
evidence  of  the  fact,  I  reply,  thai  ihere  is  no  evidence  of  the  witnesses  having 
bee II  repelled,  excep;  ihe  testinidny  of  each  man  as  it  relates  to  himself,  'i'he 
cannonading  lasted  ten  op  twelve  minutes,  and  the  whole  time  of  the  action 
(lid  not  exceed  fifteen.  Besides,  I  was  "  busied  about  many  things,"  and  my 
constant  endeavours  were  well  directed,  and  not  entirely  fruitless.  Some  of  the 
witnesses  endeavour  now  to  mark  the  lapse  of  lime  between  particular  transac- 
tions by  minutes  and  seconds.  A  much  more  certain  way,  however,  to  effect  this 
purpose  is,  to  ascertain  what  were  the  immediate  events  which  took  place  in 
the  quickest  succession.  To  mark  the  rapidity  of  the  transaction,  you  will  re- 
member that  I  had  been  on  deck,  carried  Captain  Lawrence  below,  as  far  as  the 
steerage  ladder,  gone  to  onu  of  the  two  guns  that  remained  serviceable  in  the 
battery,  assisted  in  training  and  firing  the  last  gun  and  passed  forward,  by  the 
time  that  Mr.  Higginbotham  was  coming  aft  from  an  unsuccessful  attempt  to 
gain  the  spar-deck,  though  he  made  the  attempt  as  soon  as  the  call  for  boarders 
rciiched  him. 

But  I  refused  to  an  officer  the  use  of  coercive  means.    The  impetuosity  of  a 


^'■'M 


7    «.• 


414 


SENTENCE. 


[APRIL,  1614, 


H-^'K'V- 


m-r 


■** 


■ ,  I*.  ■<  ■ 


young  ofliccr  was  restrained  by  what ! — the  cowardice  or  bad  conduct  ol'  the 
accused !  Xo,  be  coolly  replied,  and  with  deep  regret,  "  'tis  of  no  use."  He  was 
neither  rash  nor  cruel.  The  number  of  his  own  slain  wanted  no  unnecessary 
ai'.dition,  and  with  the  full  possession  of  his  judgment  he  formed  an  opinion,  the 
correctness  of  which,  when  he  said  sorrowing  "  'tis  of  no  use,"  he  still  maintains. 
In  telling  tl  ;  accused  the  evenl  of  that  battle  was  disastrous,  you  tell  him  no 
news.  It  tortured  his  feelings  at  the  time,  it  torments  him  now;  and  has  repeat- 
edly been  the  theme  of  melancholy  rellection  ;  and  when  accident  or  design  re- 
calls to  his  memory  these  vain  regrets,  he  administers  to  his  own  wounded  feel- 
ings the  same  sad  consolation  which  he  addresses  to  Mr.  Higginbotham,  "  'tis 
of  no  use." 

He  did  not  rally  men  where  there  were  none  to  be  rillied,  nor  stop  the  men 
who  were  falling  down  the  hatch  when  the  gratings  were  lost,  and  there 
were  no  means  to  prevent  them ;  but  he  animated  them  by  his  example,  which 
was  intrepid,  and  his  conduct,  which  was  firm,  and  reprt  ached  them  with  his 
voice.  He  did  not  save  the  ship,  nor  could  he,  but  his  er.deavours  to  preserve 
her  and  capture  the  enemy,  will  acquit  him  of  all  blame  in  the  loss  of  her. 

Many  inquiries  may  be  made  which  it  is  diflicull  to  anticipate.  Curiosity, 
excited  by  an  imperfect  statement,  and  events  may  suggest,  after  a  misfortune 
has  happ'ined,  many  ingenious  ways  in  which  it  might  have  been  avoided,  and 
expedients  and  improvements  in  the  conduct  of  individuals,  which,  had  th^y 
occurred  in  season,  would  have  been  of  great  service.  Vou  may  be  able,  alter 
this  long  deliberation,  to  discover  instances  in  which  the  accused  might  have 
shown  more  judgment  in  the  application  of  his  exertions.  So,  perhaps,  at  this 
time,  can  he;  but  if  his  judgment  was  not  the  best,  it  was  his  misfortune,  not 
his  fault. 

My  whole  conduct,  I  trust,  has  not  disgraced  the  commission  which  I  have 
the  honour  to  be.'ir  in  the  naval  service  of  my  country.  I  am  no  coward,  no 
deserter,  not  chargeable  with  neglect  of  dull/,  or  disobedience  of  orders.  I 
deny  every  charge,  and  assert  my  claims  to  the  unsullied  reputation  of  an 
officer,  a  man  of  honour  and  a  gentleman.  My  sword  since  my  arrest  has  been 
in  the  keeping  of  honourable  hands,  and  is  still  fit  for  service  in  the  same  cause, 
where  it  has  once  failed  of  victory.    May  better  success  attend  it  for  the  future. 

My  anxiety  during  my  trial  must  have  been  great,  notwithstanding  my  inno- 
cence;  but  the  patient  investigation,  by  the  court,  of  that  series  of  transactions 
which  I  had  the  greatest  interest  and  strongest  solicitude  to  make  public, 
has  constantly  sustained  a  mind  of  conscious  integrity,  with  the  animating 
earnest  of  an  honourable  acquittal. 

The  court  being  ordered  to  be  cleared,  and  the  whole  proceedings  read  to  the 
court  by  the  judge  advocate,  the  following  sentence  was  pronounced. 


SENTENCE. 

The  court,  after  mature  deliberation  on  the  evidence  adduced,  find  the  prisoner. 
Lieutenant  William  8.  Cox,  "not  guilty"  of  the  charges,  first,  "of  cowardice," 
second,  "  for  disobedience  of  orders,"  exhibited  against  him.  Of  the  third  charge 
fur  "'(esertion  from  his  quarters  and  neglect  of  duty,"  the  court  find  the  prisoner 
"uo'  guilty"  of  desertion  from  his  quarters,  but  "guilty  of  neglect  of  duty"  in 


v,-fi 


CHAP.  XL] 


THE    NAVY. 


415 


not  doing  his  utmost  to  aid  in  capturing  the  Shannon,  by  animating  am.  liour- 
aging,  in  his  own  example,  the  inferior  oHicers  and  men  to  fight  courageously, 
and  in  denying  the  use  of  coercive  means  to  prevent  the  desertion  of  the  men 
from  their  quarters,  and  in  not  compelling  those  who  had  deserted  from  their 
quarters  to  return  to  their  duty.  Of  the  fourth  charge,  "for  unofficer-like  con- 
duct," the  court  find  the  prisoner  "guilty,"  in  that,  while  the  enemy  was  board- 
ing, or  attempting  to  board,  the  frigate  Chesapeake,  the  prisoner  accompanied 
his  disabled  commander,  James  Lawrence,  Esq.,  from  the  quarter  deck,  where 
his  presence  and  command  were  essential  to  animate  and  direct  the  Chesapeake's 
crew  in  repelling  the  boarders  of  the  enemy;  and  sentence  him  to  be  cashiered, 
with  a  perpetual  iuca[acity  to  serve  in  the  .Vavy  of  the  United  States. 

STEPHEN  DECATUR,  President. 
Thomas  0.  SELFninoE,  Judge  Advucate. 

Approved,  JAMES  MADISON. 


L,'s  read  to  the 


The  great  influence  of  the  naval  victories  on  public  sentin  * 
did  not  decline,  but  was  corroborated  by  the  adversity  of  I'l 
interruption  in  the  captiu'e  of  the  Chesapeake.  Induced  by  the 
successes  of  the  summer  and  autunm  of  1812,  the  twelfth  Con- 
gress, soon  after  they  met  for  the  last  time,  authorized,  in  Janu- 
ary, 1813,  four  ships  of  the  line  and  six  frigates  to  be  built,  and 
in  March,  six  sloops  of  war  with  as  many  armed  vessels  on  the 
lakes  as  the  public  service  might  require.  Frigates  called  the 
(luerriere  and  Java,  sloops  the  Frolic,  the  Peacock,  and  the 
Wasp,  were  built  with  the  promptitude  of  American  shipwrigiits, 
whoso  work,  even  when  they  are  foreigners  naturalized  in  the 
United  States,  is  finished,  like  the  voyages  of  American  vessels, 
with  a  rapidity  unknown  in  Europe.  It  is  subject  of  regret 
that  those  names  of  vessels  have  not  been  kept  up.  Such  tro- 
phies should  never  be  relinquished  or  forgotten.  The  frigate 
Constellation  which  took  the  first  (French)  frigate  under  tlie  Ame- 
rican Hag,  the  frigate  Constitution,  her  English  prizes,  the  frigates 
Guerriere  and  Java,  the  sloops  of  war  Frolic  and  Peacock,  and 
the  br.ji  Boxer,  should  be  perpetuated  in  the  nomenclature  of 
an  Ameiican  navy. 

The  acts  of  Congress  for  an  extensive  marine,  especially 
the  last  indefinite  authorization  for  that  on  the  lakes,  gave 
evidence  of  the  change  and  progress  of  public  sentiment  re- 
specting a  navy,  which  till  then  had  never  been  altogether  a 
national  institution.  The  loss  of  the  Chesapeake  contributed 
to  expel  the  party  and  other  prejudice  which  still  remahied. 


■ 

^^|:<l 

m 

t^^l^J 

lyj^M''! 

^^ffl^-*, 

■■■■A- 

KJfwS^  '■ 

■  y 

^^'■\ 

JyH^''^^' 

'•''-, 

Dw^  '•''* 

«fraJ'?*''  ' 

fflB"'- 

, 

^m|"' 

'' 

»l3lHMKt. "' 

T|P^^^>'|^ 

. ,  •  • 

hMS*  '^i 

H 

J^lv^'''  " 

■Mm'i  ^  ■ 

Am. 

fe-r^l  j'.l't',..- 


410 


qV  INC  Y'S     RKSOLUTIONS. 


[JUNK,  1S13. 


The  House  of  Representatives,  wliicli  declared  war,  rejected  a 
bill  appropriating  SlOO,()00  to  the  captors  of  the  Giiyrriere,  by  a 
vote  of  59  to  5\ :  most  of  the  federalists  who  opposed  the  war, 
voting  for,  and  most  of  the  republican  or  war  party,  voting 
against,  the  grant.  In  the  last  expiring  moments  of  thai  session, 
however,  on  the  3d  March,  1S13,  when  measures  become  acts  of 
Congress  by  the  midnight  legerdemain,  which  then  contrives 
tiicir  enactment,  appropriations  were  effected  for  half  tliat  sum, 
viz;  S.50,000  for  the  capture  of  the  Guerriere,  together  with 
5')0,000  dollars  for  the  capture  of  the  Java,  and  S'J5,00u  for  the 
capture  Ci  the  Frolic.  But  the  sense  of  Congress  was  not  tested 
as  on  the  1st  February,  by  open  votes  and  speeclies  on  the 
subject,  nor  opposition  overcome  by  deliberate  procaedings, 
showing  that  the  navy  had  then  got  the  belter  of  its  Am:''icanas 
well  as  of  its  English  enemies,  or  thai  even  the  war  party  was 
reconciled  to  it.  Vel  national  sentiment  was  rapidly  rising  far, 
as  usual,  beyond  congressional  liberality.  Nearly  universal 
popular  good-will,  even  emulous  among  opposite  j)arties,  wel- 
comed the  naval  victories  for  which  Congress  allowed  inade- 
quate and  almost  stolen  rewards,  while  sympathy  as  general 
deplored  the  first  great  naval  misfortune.  In  the  midst  of  these 
general  indications  of  national  satisfaction  «:ucceeded  by  mourn- 
ing as  universal,  an  outrage  on,  not  merely  patriotic  but  natural 
feelings,  attempted  in  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts,  sitting 
at  Boston,  soon  after  tiie  Chesapeake  sailed  from  that  port  to 
encounter  the  Shannon,  provoked  the  final  extinction  of  all 
that  remained  in  the  United  States  of  infidelity  to  a  naval  esta- 
blishment, by  indignation  at  the  sectional  heresy  in  New  England, 
which  was  reprobated  everywhere  else.  On  the  15th  June,  1S13, 
I\Ir,  Josiah  Quincy,  in  the  senate  of  Massachusetts,  moved  the 
I'ollowing  preamble  and  resolutions,  which  were  adopted  :  — 

"  Whereas  a  proposition  has  been  made  to  this  senate  for  the 
adoption  of  sundry  resolutions,  expressive  of  their  sense  of  the 
gallantry  and  good  conduct  exhibited  by  Captain  James  Law- 
rence, commander  of  the  United  States  ship  of  war  Hornet,  and 
the  olficers  and  crew  of  that  ship,  in  the  destruction  of  his  ma- 
jesty's ship  of  war  Peacock  :  and,  whereas  it  has  been  found 
that  former  resolutions  of  this  kind,  [)assed  on  similar  occasions 
relative  to  other  officers  engaged  in  a  like  service,  have  given 
great  discontent  to  many  of  the  good  people  of  this  common- 


^ 


CHAP.  XI.] 


(il'lN'CY'S     RKSOLUTIO.N.'?. 


417 


wealth,  it  being  considered  by  them  as  an  encouragement  and 
excitement  to  the  continuance  oi'tlie  present  unjust,  unnecessary, 
and  ini(iuitous  war ;  and,  on  that  account  the  senate  of  JNhissa- 
chusetts  liave  deemed  it  their  duty  to  refrain  from  acting  on  the 
said  proposition :  and,  also,  whereas  this  determination  of  the 
senate  may,  without  explanation,  be  misconstrued  into  an  inten- 
tional slight  of  Captain  Lawrence,  and  denial  of  his  particular 
merits  ;  the  senate,  therefore,  deem  it  tlieir  duty  to  declare  that 
they  have  a  high  sense  of  the  naval  skill  and  military  and  civil 
virtues  of  Captain  James  Lawrence ;  and  that  ihcy  have  been 
withheld  from  acting  on  said  propositions  solely  from  considera- 
tions relative  to  the  nature  and  principles  of  the  present  war. 
And  to  the  end  that  all  misre[)resentations  on  this  subject  may 
be  obviated, 

"lie.wlveU,  as  the  sense  of  the  senate  of  INIassaciuisetts,  that, 
in  a  war  like  the  present,  waged  without  justifiable  cause,  and 
prosecuted  in  a  manner  that  indicates  that  conquest  and  ambi- 
tion are  its  real  motives,  it  is  not  becoming  a  moral  and  religious 
people  to  express  any  approbation  of  military  or  naval  exploits 
which  are  not  immediately  coimected  with  the  defence  of  our 
seacoast  and  soil." 

Such  authoritative  disloyalty  disgusted  and  provoked  patriotic 
reaction,  far  beyond  the  power  of  argument,  among  advocates 
of  war,  theretofore  opponents  of  the  navy.  Conviction  rapidly 
and  widely  spread  by  sympathy  stronger  than  reason,  that  the 
navy  was  political  attraction,  as  well  as  belligerent  vindication. 
The  representatives  of  rural  districts,  by  whose  votes  war  was 
declared  for  free  trade  and  sailors'  rights,  needing  some  strong 
revulsion  to  subdue  local  prejudices  and  convert  them  to  an 
expensive  national  institution,  in  which  farmers  and  planters 
seemed  to  have  no  ostensible  interest  or  advantage,  rallied  to  the 
support  of  the  abused  marine  asserters  of  American  rights,  tra- 
duced by  partisans  who  made  common  cause  with  the  enemy. 
Indignation  against  those  stigmatized  as  little  better  than  traitors, 
confirmed  a  growing  admiration  for  naval  achievement,  and  put 
an  end  to  all  opposition  to  the  uavy,  except  that  denounced  and 
counteracted  as  infamous  and  revolting.  The  naval  aversion  and 
parsimonious  retention  of  the  twelfth  Congress,  even  among  such 
members  of  it  as  were  also  members  of  the  thirteenth  Congress, 
disappeared  at  our  first  session,  when  the  deplorable  fate  of 


»■  ■ 

' 

'■•''^' 

m.  ■■ 


m^.: 


418 


N  A  \  V 


[JfNK,  ISi:!. 


tlic  ^;tll;\iit  Lawrcncp,  nsgr.ivatcd  by  Quiiicy's  rcsolmions,  hml 
irnat  cllci't,  'I'lic  republican  or  rural  piiriy  adojilful  (be  navy  as 
Uu;y  dill  ilio  war,  slowly  and  rcbictantly,  but  surely,  uri,'od  and 
goaded  by  iniijenorous  opposition  and  lOnylisb  aggression.  Dis- 
appointed on  tbe  land,  but  relieved  (roni  tbe  sea,  iniloolced-lur 
naval  ti  iunipbs  began  re|iubliean  reconciliation  to  tlie  navy,  wliich 
was  conlirnied  by  an  odious  (action  maligning  its  victories,  and 
refusing  to  condole  witli  its  greatest  defeat.  We  liave  lost  a  frigate, 
said  IJainbridge's  ollicial  letter,  of  tbe  Sth  .lune,  l.si;j,  to  tlie  Sec- 
retary of  tbe  Navy,  but  no  reputation..  Sbould  tbe  enemy  imi)Ute 
it  to  superior  skill  or  bravery,  tbey  must  give  more  tban  one 
solitary  instance  to  convince  us.  Sucli  was  tbe  argument  bo  and 
Stewart  used  to  tlie  president  a  year  before  against  laying  up  tbe 
navy.  And  it  bad  become  a  national  sentiment.  A  tiiousand 
Cbesapeakes  taken  by  as  many  Sliannons  would  not  quell  tbe  spirit 
wliicb  tbe  naval  events  of  a  twelvemonth  bad  inspired.  When 
tlie  tliirteentli  Congress  came  together,  therefore,  not  a  word 
was  uttered,  much  less  votes  journalized,  against  rewarding,  sup- 
l)orting,  and  extending  the  navy.  Ou  the  I'ith  Juno,  1813,  the 
Naval  committee  reporteil  a  bill  to  the  House  of  K(;prcsentatives, 
as  soon  as  the  capture  of  the  Ciiesapeake  was  known  at  Wash- 
ington, appropriating  S-3'),000  to  Lawrence,  his  ollicers  and  crew 
for  the  capture  of  the  Peacock  ;  which  bill,  with  an  amendment 
adding  Si '-2,000  to  Elliot  and  his  companions  for  their  two  prizes 
on  Lake  Eric  in  October,  1S12,  was  passed  witiiout  opposition 
ou  tbe  y2d  of  that  month,  the  anniversary  of  tlu;  fust  capture 
of  tbe  Chesapeake  in  1S07.  These  approi)riatioiis  were  nearly 
simultaneous  with  INIr.  Quincy's  resolutions,  which  provoked  by 
wholesome  reaction  their  unquestioned  enactment.  Feelings, 
stronger  tban  reason,  the  voice  of  the  people,  the  instinct  of  ini- 
juilsive  patriotism,  wrought  convicti(jn  in  nearly  every  American 
breast,  that  our  agricultural  is  also  a  maritime  country.  When 
Perry  siiifted  Ids  flag  with  ^'  Doii't  tj^ive  up  /At' «////;,"  upon  it, 
from  a  dismantled  but  unconquered  ship,  called  the  Lawrence,  on 
Lake  Erie,  deep  in  the  far  west,  tbe  militia  of  western  Pennsyl- 
vania and  Ohio,  who  snpi)lied  the  numbers  of  his  imperfect  crew, 
felt,  without  pondering,  tliat  a  navy  was  part  of  American  inde- 
pendence. When  Tecumseh  in  the  wilds  of  Alabama  roused  that 
primitive  population,  the  mountaineers  of  Tennessee,  who  never 
saw  a  ship,  and  hardly  ever  heard  of  a  sailor,  to  repel  the  invasion 


CHAP.  M] 


N  A  V  Y 


419 


of  the  lords  of  the  ocean,  with  hifiiriatcd  savages  and  revolted 
slaves,  come  from  the  scacoast  to  despoil  their  rustic  homes,  they 
too  felt,  without  waiting  to  think,  that  tlioir  cause  was  that  of  tht; 
mariiH'i-  of  New  l-'iigland.  A  rovolntionary  sympathy  eleclrilied 
the  American  nation  for  victors  like  Hull,  and  victims  like  Law- 
rence. Deliglited  with  naval  victories,  deploring  naval  misfor- 
tune, disgusted  with  those  who  delighted  in  what  good  Ameri- 
cans  deplored,  and  deplored  what  they  delighted  in,  *'/A>/(7  ^'/y^ 
vp  the  ship,'  and  "7//-e  Jaslvr,^''  became  watchwords  in  the 
woods  and  prairies,  and  on  the  lakes  of  the  far  west,  as  on  the 
waves  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific. 

Nowhere  was  this  national  unlhusiasm  more  heartfelt  than  in 
the  good  people  of  New  England — tliosc  who  from  Massachu- 
setts, Connecticut,  and  New  Hampshire  carry  their  invincible  and 
iiUelligent  enterprise  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior  and  the  banks 
of  the  Ciulf  of  Mexico.  Their  patriotic  sympathies  were  with 
the  Union,  and  the  war,  with  the  glory  and  progress  of  the  great 
republican  empire  which  many  of  their  luost  educated,  wealthy, 
and  devout  strove  to  confine  within  limits  as  narrow  as  tlieir  own 
short-sighted  vision  of  national  grandeur,  and  intolerant  English 
notion  of  individual  freedom.  In  another  year  tlie  people  of  lios- 
ton  prevented  those  infatuated  promoters  of  revolt  from  surren- 
dering the  frigate  Constitution,  together  with  the  ship  of  the  line 
upon  the  stocks  ilicre,the  corner-stone  and  national  concession  of 
the  maritime  exti  nsion  from  which  New  England  was  to  derive 
the  greatest  advantages.  What  they  termed  the  populace  of  Bos- 
ton [)rcvente(l  their  superiors,  as  certainly  they  should  liave  been, 
from  surreii  cnng  those  ships  to  the  English  tiireatening  to  burn 
tliem  in  tin  i  navy  yard,  when  governors  and  divines  were  hatch- 
ing the  Hartford  Convention,  that  last  extremity  of  passive  trea- 
son, whose  scheme  to  withhold  the  war  taxes  might  have  dis- 
membered the  Union  by  the  final  exjiedient  of  desperate  disaf- 
fection. Naval  success,  and  victories  by  land  far  from  them,  at 
length  crushed  their  designs,  more  ruinous  to  their  contrivers 
than  even  infamous.  In  spite  of  their  malignity  a  navy  became, 
by  universal  adoption,  the  shield  and  sword  of  the  United  States, 
and  like  the  south-western  territories,  which  Massaciuisetts  re- 
jected, the  great  bond  of  American  national  union.  Local  and 
parsimonious  republicanism  which  lield  back  from  the  navy, 
adopted  it  under  the  pressure  of  transatlantic  aggression,  and 


\ 


i|--.r 


I'mm: 


:',Mt 


■iM? 


mth 

A-:^' 


jnf' 


i^: 


'  \H'''' 


1.4 


V     I 
r  4 


i'V     •      . 


fm 


u 


420 


LAWREN'Ci:. 


[1S13. 


reaction  against  American  treachery. 


The  Senate  of  Massa- 
chusetts, by  voting  Quincy's  resolution,  unwittingly  helped  to 
render  the  navy  an  institution  of  a  republican  confederacy,  which 
from  the  Aroostook  to  Chicago,  and  tlienco  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
by  the  war  of  1812  repelled  transatlantic  aggression. 

In  another  respect,  professional  as  well  as  national  benefits 
arose  from  Lawrence's  sacrifice.  Triumphs  transcendent,  and 
unexpected,  intoxicated  national  confidence,  and  disarmed  nnval 
[)rudeiice.  Vain-glorious  assurance,  almost  contempt  for  the 
much  dreaded  enemy,  took  place  of  that  considerate  valour 
from  which  discretion  can  never  be  rejected  with  impunity.  No 
enemy  can  be  despised.  Mr.  Irving  and  Mr.  Cooper,  with  other 
accounts  of  the  engagement  between  tlie  Chesapeake  and  the 
Shannon,  dwell  on  the  unprepared  and  disorderly  condition  of 
the  American  frigate,  and  the  misgivings  with  which  lier  com- 
mander went  to  battle,  But  was  he  not  misled  by  the  mistaken 
confidence  that  he  could  take  an  English  frigate  in  a  quarter  of  an 
liour  as  he  took  a  sloop?  Many  of  his  countrymen  still  believe 
lie  liad  done  so  when  his  ship  got  foul  of  tlie  other,  and  that 
mere  accident  then,  as  it  often  does,  reversed  the  scale  of  victory. 
If  Captain  Lawrence  had  received  Commodore  lirock's  manly 
challenge  before  sailing,  or  if  he  had  been  less  hasty  in  closing 
with  him,  the  contest  might  have  been  more  equal  than  it  was, 
when  Lawrence  rushed  upon  every  disadvantage  with  a  brave, 
cautious  and  well-prepared  foe,  whose  much  more  complete 
preparation  did  him  honour. 

That  the  English  navy  did  not  consider  that  solitary  victory 
a  final  settlement  of  the  question  of  naval  superiority  was  appa- 
rent throughout  the  rest  of  the  war,  when  rarely,  if  ever,  did  they 
engage  an  American  vessel  without  some  advantage.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1S14,  it  was  made  known  to  Commodore  Decatur,  that 
Commodore  Hardy,  commanding  the  squadron  blockading  the 
American  squadron  at  New  London,  had  yielded  to  the  desire 
of  two  of  his  captains,  Hope  of  the  Endymion  frigate,  and  Stack- 
pole  of  the  Statira,  to  meet  the  frigates  United  States,  Captain 
Decatur,  and  Macedonian  Captain  Jones ;  but  that  the  English 
commodore  did  not  like  to  take  the  responsibility  of  giving  the 
challenge,  though  he  said  he  would  permit  the  combat,  Decatur 
immediately  sent  Captain  Biddle  with  the  challenge,  which  was 


'ru 


*' 


% 


c*^(_ 


■•>'^;;v 


[1S13. 


CHAP.  XI.] 


DKCATUR. 


421 


loft  by  tlio  Eiiglisli  commodore  to  the  dotcrmination  of  liis  two 
captains,  who,  alter  considering,  dechiied  it.  The  Endj'iiiiou 
mounted  more  guns  than  the  Unit(!d  Statics,  and  the  Statira  more 
than  the  Macedonian.  Decatur  proposed  to  meet  them  as  they 
were,  or  man  and  arm  the  ships  exactly  alike,  man  for  man  and 
gun  for  gun.  Periiapsiio  large  inferences  could  bo  drawn  from 
the  challenge  on  tiie  one  part,  or  declining  it  on  the  other,  as 
various  points  of  olficial  responsibility,  as  well  as  personal  and 
national  honour,  enter  into  the  management  of  such  affairs.  The 
disalfected  American  press  ou  that  occasion,  opened  its  animad- 
versions on  Uecatur,and  bestowed  commendation  on  the  lOnglisIi 
commander,  liul  it  was  replied,  that  what  was  called  fighting 
a  matcii,  was  less  hazardous  and  as  honourable  with  equal  (brco, 
as  cruizing  over  distant  se;is  for  a  Ions  time  in  search  of  such 
encounter.  The  national  advantages  would  be  the  same  from 
victory  :  the  glory  of  the  flag,  the  conquest  of  the  enemy,  the  coti- 
iidence  that  begets  further  enter[)rise,  favourable  impression  oa 
mankind,  and  eventually  peace  and  happiness.  If  it  could  be  so, 
it  would  be  an  amelioratiou  of  naval  wurliirc,  to  refer  the  result 
to  single  combat,  which  in  war  between  the  United  States  and 
Great  Hritain,  might  save  treasure  and  blood  to  both,  in  the  rela- 
tive strength  of  the  two  navies,  with  great  advantage  to  this 
country. 

Two  months  after  the  capture  of  the  Chesapeake,  in  the  .same 
neighbourhood,  the  ascendant  of  American  naval  victories  was 
restored  in  the  triumphant  death  of  another  gallant  seaman.  The 
schooner  J'^nterprize,  commanded  by  Lieutenant  William  Bur- 
rowes,  sailing  from  Portsmouth,  New  llam|)shire,  the  1st  Sep- 
tember, 181, '5,  was  encountered  by  the  English  brig  lioxer,  at 
least  her  eipial  in  size,  weight,  and  armament,  commanded  by 
Captain  IJIythe,  a  bold,  brave  Englishman,  prepared  to  take  the 
Enterprize  as  the  Chesapeake  had  been  taken  ;  who  went  into 
action  with  colours  streaming  from  all  his  spars,  and  his  flag 
nailed  to  the  mast.  After  a  sharp  contest,  in  which  both  com- 
manders were  killed,  the  English  vessel  was  compelled  to  beg 
for  quarter  from  her  conqueror,  for  the  flag  could  not  be  struck 
as  it  was  nailed  to  the  mast,  while  the  American  guns  continued 
to  fire.  The  Boxer  was  taken  a  prize  into  Portsmouth,  by 
l.,ieutenant  McCall,who  succeedinl  Burrowes  in  command  of  the 
Enterprize  :  and  Burrowes  and  Blythe  were  there  buried  toge- 
VOL.  I. — 36 


;Vr.; 


m 


iy-v.- 


■i.V 

■*.■■(.•.: 


'\i^i'. 


5  Vm-i  ■"'«■■  ■ 


fT  **■  .V  it'"  ■ 


422 


entehi'Rize  and   boxlr. 


[SEPT.,  1813. 


ther  witli  the  honours  both  merited,  Ikirrowes  died  lieroically, 
refusii)g  to  leave  the  deck  at"ter  being  mortally  wounded,  like 
Pike  and  Lawrence,  expiring  on  the  hard  but  imperishable  bed 
of  honour.  Ten  days  alter  that,  Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie 
completed  our  revival  from  a  momentary  pang  of  naval  depres- 
sion. There,  too,  the  English  colours,  nailed  to  the  mast,  were 
taken  down  by  American  captors. 

The  Enterprize  and  Boxer  were  small  vessels,  and  their  en- 
gagement therefore  not  as  striking  as  that  between  the  Chesa' 
peake  and  Shannon  frigates.  But  in  no  instance  was  the  supe- 
riority of  American  broadsides,  nautical  skill,  and  personal 
courage,  better  signalized.  The  Boxer  was  armed,  manned, 
fitted,  and  prepared  at  Halifax,  with  a  chosen  crew  and  ollicers, 
like  the  Shannon,  to  test  the  question  of  national  naval  pre-emi- 
nence. Taken  into  Portsmouth,  the  English  brig  was  a  much 
more  remarkable  token  of  success  than  the  American  frigate 
taken  into  Halifax.  Her  hull,  masts,  rigging,  and  sails,  were 
studded  with  round  and  grape  shot,  more  than  ten  to  one  in  the 
Boxer  than  the  Enterprize.  Disingenuous  elTorts  were  made, 
as  usual,  by  the  federal  newspapers  in  that  quarter,  particularly 
at  Newburyport  and  Boston,  to  undervalue  the  victory;  which 
induced  Captain  Hull,  commanding  that  station,  to  examine  and 
certify  the  truth.  Captain  Gordon,  of  the  English  vessel  Rattler, 
sent  by  a  flag  of  truce  to  ask  for  his  seamen  taken  in  the  Boxer: 
and  beyond  all  doubt,  the  victory,  small  as  it  was  in  the  size  ol 
the  combatants,  was  a  trial  of  strength,  prepared  for  in  Halifax, 
without  notice  to  the  conqueror. 

At  the  same  time  solace  from  Engln.nd  came  across  the  Atlan- 
tic in  bursts  of  extravagant  exultation  for  the  capture  of  the 
Chesapeake,  for  wiiich  the  Tower  guns  were  fired  as  if  a  fleet 
had  been  taken,  and  national  joy  so  unmeasured  broke  loose 
as  to  show  how  deep  the  despondency  must  have  been  before 
what  proved  but  short-lived  rc-ilieucy.  On  the  passage  of  the 
Frolic  from  the  Downs  to  Portsmouih,  having  made  her  number 
to  the  Mijbe,  Captain  Montague,  a  ship  in  attendance  on  the 
Duke  of  Clarence,  afterwards  King  William  the  Fourth,  amus- 
ing himself  at  Brightoi.,  as  soon  as  he  understood  it  was  t[)e 
Frolic,  wliich  had  been  captured  by  the  American  sloop  of  war 
Wasp,  the  duke  expressed  a  wish  to  go  on  board  of  her,  which 
he  did,  and  lield  a  levee,  at  which  the  oflicers  were  uilroduced  to 


CHAP.  XI.] 


URIG     ARGUS. 


423 


his  royal  highness,  who  complimonted  thorn  on  their  native 
gallantry.  Among  other  instances  of  Indicrons  apology,  a  Lon- 
don newspaper  published  that  the  Anieriean  victories  were  owing 
to  their  cartri(lg(!s  being  made  of  lead,  so  that  ihe  sh.ot,  instead 
of  being  enclosed  in  canvas,  were  cased  in  a  material  which 
accounted  for  the  destructive  (ire  of  their  broadsides.  The  secret 
had  been  made  known  to  the  commissioners  of  the  admiralty 
by  a  lieutcna!it,  who  was  to  have  been  promoted  for  it.  With 
such  royal  courtship  were  ofllcers  cajoled,  and  with  such  news- 
paper failles  were  seamen  alarmed,  to  explain  disasters  attributa- 
ble to  the  capacity  of  mariners,  more  free  and  better  disciplined 
than  their  European  antagonists,  by  a  combination  of  greater 
liberty  with  greater  law  than  the  English  navy  ever  could  boast. 

Sailing  from  New  York  in  June,  IS  I, 3,  to  fairy  Mr.  Crawford, 
(he  American  minister,  to  France,  after  landing  him  there,  the  brig 
Argus,  Captain  William  II.  Allen,  next  month  performed  an  ad- 
venturouscrnise  in  the  British  Channel,  where  she  captnredtwenty 
merchant  vessels  and  caused  great  alarm  to  the  commerce  of  En- 
gland. In  the  narrow  seas,  where  Admiral  St.  Vincent  insisted  that 
a  British  treaty  with  the  United  States  should  require  recognition 
of  Cireat  Britain's  exclusive  mastery,  that  little  vessel  unfurled  the 
American  Hag  upon  a  cruise,  the  conception  of  which  required 
genius,  whose  suf^cessful  execution  would  have  been  one  of  the 
most  splendid  exploits  of  seafaring  courage,  and  whose  disastrous 
close  brought  no  dishonour  on  the  brave  enterprize.  The  En- 
glish reverence  which  then  pervaded  the  seaboard  of  this  coun- 
try, magnifying  English  maritime  power,  was  well  rebuked  by 
the  Argus  on  the  English  coast,  contrasted  with  the  total  want 
of  British  naval  enterprize  at  the  same  time,  with  considerable 
lleets  failing  to  make  any  serious  impression  in  the  Chesapeake, 
the  Delaware  and  whereviu*  else  it  was  attempted  in  our  waters. 
Wc  were  taught  that  di.iant  and  maritime  power  is  apt  to 
be  overrated,  especially  by  this  country  of  th.at.  One  of  the 
American  ollicers  who  was  near  being  condemned,  by  diffi- 
dence of  the  American  navy,  to  remain  with  it  as  a  harbour 
defence  in  New  York,  a  calm  and  calculating  seaman,  considers 
that  city  in  no  more  danger  from  English  assault,  than  great 
English  cities  from  American. 

On  the  loth  August,  IS1;3,  the  Argus  captured  a  vessel  loaded 
with  wine,  of  wluch  it  was  said  too  free  use  was  made  by  tlio 


Wm- 


1 1 


jI)     / 


^ 


424 


NAVAL     WARFARE. 


[AUG.,  1813. 


American  crew.  Soon  after  which  her  flag  was,  not  ingloriously, 
struclc,  after  an  engagement  with  the  English  brig  of  war  Peli- 
can, Captain  Maples.  The  Pelican  measnred  485  tons,  the 
Argns  298 ;  the  British  vessel  mounted  eighteen  32  pounders, 
the  Argus  sixteen  24  pounders.  The  Argus,  under  all  these 
disadvantages,  was  nobly  fought  in  St.  George's  Channel,  and 
did  not  strike  till  her  case  was  hopeless.  Captain  Allen  was 
mortally  Avounded,  iiis  first  lieutenant  Watson  disabled,  and 
the  vessel,  then  commanded  by  Captain  Allen's  younger  brother, 
was  desperately  defended  till  furdier  resistance  was  impossible. 

Besides  the  Shannon,  Belle  Poule,  and  Tenedos  olf  Boston, 
Commodore  Hardy's  squadron  blockading  Decatur's  at  New 
London,  Beresford  in  the  Poictiers  ship  of  the  line,witli  a  frigate 
and  some  smaller  vessels,  in  the  Delaware,  whose  attempt  on 
Lewistown  has  been  before  mentioned.  Admirals  Warren  and 
Cockburne,  with  a  large  fleet  in  the  Chesapeake,  beginning  with 
paltry  depredations,  afterwards  defeated  at  Crancy  island,  and 
in  several  attempts  to  get  possession  of,  or  burn  the  ('onstellation. 
disgraced  by  slight  success  with  Beckwith's  land  forces  at  Hamp- 
ton, and  an  alarm  they  gave  Congress  at  Washington,  the  naval 
efforts  of  Great  Britain  on  the  American  seaboard  continued  in- 
significant throughout  the  year  1813.  Whenever  war  with  Eng- 
land is  the  theme,  our  assailable  places  and  seaports  arc  con- 
signed to  fancied  destruction.  The  British  press,  and  sometimes 
Parliament,  fulminate  slave  insurrections,  Indian  incursions,  lake 
and  Atlantic  invasions,  most  of  which  are  imagined  likewise  by 
portions  of  the  United  States,  But  such  was  not  the  experience 
of  the  late  war,  which  was  mostly  merely  nredu.ory  on  their 
part,  and  expensive  ratiier  than  otherwise  injui.jus  to  us.  In  tlie 
Delaware  and  Chesapeake  small  warfare  was  continually  waging 
throughout  1813,  with  various  success,  the  might  always  against 
us,  our  shore  repulsion  often  deficient  in  vigour,  and  mostly  in 
skill.  Still,  of  the  much  deprecated  horrors  of  war,  the  sutl'ering 
was  more  imaginary  and  costly  than  real  or  durable  ;  and  should 
teach  confidence  for  any  sucii  future  occasion.  It  would  be  easy 
to  fill  pages  with  stories  of  these  little  marauds:  bm  tlieir 
details  have  no  historical  interest  except  as  affording  national 
instruction  for  preparation,  moral  and  material,  for  any  other 
such  tioublos. 

Long  and  unmolested  cruises  during  the  Avholc  yea;  1813  of 


;i 


''i^ 


CHAP.  XI.] 


AMT^UICAN    CRUIZERS. 


425 


the  frigates  Prosidont,  Captain  Rotlgcrs,  the  Congress,  Captain 
Smith,  (lie  Essex,  Captain  Porter,  and  other  vessels  of  war,  tra- 
versing nearly  every  sea,  making  many  captures,  and  encoun- 
tering no  enonvies  able  to  capture  them,  demonstrated  that  the 
ubicjuity  and  immensity  of  Britii^h  naval  powers  are,  in  good 
measure,  illusive.  In  April,  the  President  and  the  Congress  put 
to  sea  from  Boston,  separated,  and  performed  extensive  cruises 
alone,  seeking  for  E'iglish  vessijis.  In  July,  the  Essex  proceeded 
on  her  memorable  cruise  in  the  Pacific  Ocean,  hereafter  to  be 
described.  By  the  time  Congress  met  in  December  we  had 
accounts  from  Captain  Porter  that  he  had  captured,  manned,  and 
armed  nine  large  I']iiglish  vessels,  worth  two  millions  of  dollars, 
and  was  commodore  of  a  fleet  of  his  own  creation,  in  which, 
among  other  singular  naval  occurrences,  his  chaplain  served,  to 
f^upply  the  want  of  navigators,  as  a  prize  master.  The  President 
and  tlie  Congress  returned  into  our  ports,  refitted,  and  sailed  again, 
as  if  there  were  no  British  ships  to  countenance  proclamations 
of  their  blockade.  Hodgcrs  sailed  in  December,  1S13,  i'-om 
Newport,  not  only  without  interruption  from  the  enemy's 
si^uadron,  oil'  New  London,  hut  of  a  clear  moonlight  night,  and, 
ns  was  believed,  preceded  by  a  traitor  shallop  which  gave  notice 
of  his  departin-e.  Ihif,  as  was  said  in  the  maritime  confid'^>icj 
which  Hie  navy  liad  then  established,  the  fast-anchored  ships  of 
the  fast-anchored  isle  of  Great  Britain,  were  no  match  for  the 
vigilant  and  darinir  seamen  of  America. 

The  cruises  and  captures  of  these  frigates  were  complained 
of  in  Parliamimt  and  more  loudly  by  the  English  press.  Wlhle 
large  French  fleets,  completely  armed,  equipped,  and  ready  for 
sea,  with  Dutch  and  Italian  sailors,  snfl'ered  blockade,  often,  as 
Melville  declared  in  the  Mouse  of  Lords,  by  British  force  inferior 
to  their  own,  a  f(!W  American  frigates  not  only  traversed  the 
ocean  without  interruption,  but  defied  die  English  marine,  and 
distressed  the  commerce  under  its  charge,  llodgers  captured 
off  Newfoundland,  a  small  English  vessel  of  war,  the  High- 
flyer, from  which  he  got  the  private  signals  (as  the  enemy 
captured  ours  in  tlic  frigate  Chesapeake),  together  with  circular 
orders  from  Admiral  Warren,  to  every  English  ship,  to  capture, 
if  possible,  the  frigate  President.  When  it  was  known  in  En- 
gland that  she  had  watered  at  North  Bergen,  several  squadrons 
were  dispatched  in  pursuit  of  her;  the  Royal  Oak  and  Seahorse, 

36* 


W'H   y 


mm¥^ 


U:' 


U  ' 


v.. 


St    t>     I 


426 


SEA    LOSSES     nv    WAR. 


[AUO.,  181?, 


^j      t 


under  Lord  A.  Beauclerk,  the  Superb,  Mcnelaus,  and  Fly,  mider 
Captain  Paget,  and  several  frigates  sent  by  Admiral  Young  from 
his  fleet. 

At  the  same  time  the  American  privateers  were  active  and 
successful ;  so  much  so,  that  more  particular  accounts  of  their 
performances  is  reserved  for  another  riiapter.  Altogether, 
throughout  the  year  1813,  proofs  nmltiplied  that  on  the  ocean 
Great  Britain  was  neither  omnipotent  nor  invulnerable.  Even 
the  merchant  voyages  of  the  United  States  were  not  put  a  stop 
to.  Without  reckoning  the  large  illicit  trade  t>oni  New  Englanci 
to  Halifax,  by  which  it  was  said  17,000  barrels  of  flour  were 
entered  in  one  day  at  that  port  from  the  United  States,  cotton 
and  other  staples  of  this  country  were  exported  in  profitable 
adventures  to  France,  Spain,  and  elsewhere.  The  tabular  state- 
ments of  treasury  receipts  and  expenditures  annexed  to  my  fitdi 
chapter,  page  256,  siiow  that  the  impost  of  the  United  States  was 
not  extinguished  by  all  the  alleged  might  of  the  vast  navy  of  Great 
Britain.  American  commercial  losses  by  war  did  not  excessively 
surpass  those  which,  before  its  declaration,  were  caused  to 
American  commerce  by  English  seizures  and  sequestrations, 
together  with  French  unlawful  depredations.  Blockades,  deten- 
tions, admiralty  and  otiier  charges  and  impositions,  cost  the  mer- 
chants of  the  United  States  nearly  as  much  as  war,  by  losses  at 
sea.  It  is  true  that  the  greater  expenses  of  war  were  to  be  added 
to  this  estimate  of  its  cost.  But  ever  since  Franklin  and  .Jeti'erson 
brought  from  Europe  that  just  horror  of  war's  wanton  abomi- 
nations which  became  the  politics  of  this  country,  till  the  crisis 
when  a  resort  to  it  wa^  at  last  forced  from  Congress,  exag- 
gerated impressions  pre^  ailed  in  the  United  States,  and  were  fo- 
mented by  colonial  reve  'ence  for  F^ngland,  of  the  etfects  of  war, 
which  facts  and  reason  \o  not  justify.  The  income  of  the  Uriited 
States  from  customs  in  1813,  was  Sl3,22  l,f)23  25;  whereas,  in 
1809,  it  but  little  exceec ed  seven,  and  in  1810,  eight  millions  of 
dollars.  In  1813  it  was  about  the  same,  one  year  after  the  war, 
that  it  was  in  1811,  out  year  before.  The  commerce  of  the 
United  States  was  not  driven  from  the  ocean  by  war.  Far  from 
it.  If  Mr.  Gallatin  had  given  his  experience  and  talents  to 
the  treasury  department,  instead  of  bestowing  them  upon  first, 
an  attempt  to  prevent  the  navy  from  going  to  sea,  and  then 
going  to  Europe  himself  to  importune  peace  by  other  than  var 


CHAP.  XL] 


LAKE    CHAMPfAl  V. 


427 


measures,  or  if  the  American  government  had  not  been  deterred 
by  British  iiifhictiee  from  cultivating  the  cominerre  and  naval 
co-operaiion  it  might  have  ar'angod  with  Franco,  the  fiscal  bur- 
thens of  the  war  of  1S12  w-onld  have  been  much  less,  and  i.s 
mihlary  achievements  have  soonc  tended  to  the  only  legitimate 
object  of  war — safe  and  permanent  peace. 

Of  tiic  lake  warfare  in  1813,  Miat  on  Lake  Erie  has  been 
already  mentioned.  Perry's  victory  with  a  fleet,  like  Hull's 
with  a  frigate,  the  first  success  of  the  kind,  was  of  innstimablc 
advantage  in  breaking  the  Uritish  charm  of  naval  ascendant, 
and  proving  that  even  when  out-numbered,  our  mariners  would 
seldom  be  overcome.  The  fleet  combat  on  Lake  Champlain 
is  part  of  lite  events  of  next  year.  On  the  9lh  of  September. 
1813,  the  young  commander  there,  Thomas  MacDonough,  ofli- 
cially  informed  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  that  our  ollicers  in 
his  sloop,  the  President,  had  in  vain  endeavoured  to  bring  the 
enemy  to  action,  who  declined  it,  and  stood  off  with  his  squadron 
to  the  north,  acknowledging  either  American  mastery  on  tliat 
lake,  or  J^nglish  unwillingness  to  test  it  without  fun'ier  ship- 
building, of  which  the  costly  race  soon  began  there  that  was  pro- 
secuting on  Lake  Ontario,  and  next  day,  the  10th  of  that  month, 
terminated  by  Perry's  victory  on  Lake  Erie. 

About  the  same  time,  the  remains  of  Lawrence,  and  his  first 
Lieutenant  Ludlow,  transported  from  Halifax  hi  a  flag  of  truce 
to  New  York,  were  buried  there  with  suitable  ceremonies  and 
universal  sympathy.  Captain  BIythe,  of  the  Boxer,  who  bore  a 
pall  at  Lawrence's  interment  in  Halifax,  was  shortly  before  the 
latter's  burial  ai  New  Yoik,  consigned  to  the  grave  with  Bur- 
rovves,  at  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire.  The  disingenuous  ofli- 
cial  statements  by  which  Captain  Carden  tried  to  veil  his  capture 
in  the  Macedonian,  the  social  adulation  by  which  Dacres  was 
welcomed  when  a  prisoner  in  Boston,  and  generally  the  haughty 
bearing  of  English  naval  officers,  together  with  the  despicable 
obsequiousness  of  too  many  Americans,  mutually  subsided  into 
reciprocal  feelings  of  naval  and  national  respect.  The  few  naval 
engagements  could  not,  indeed,  expel  the  British  marine  from  the 
ocean,  or  even  prevent  its  mastery  there.  But  they  served  to 
convince  both  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  as  Bainbridge 
said  of  the  solitary  capture  of  the  Chesapeake,  that  many  more 
proofs  of  superiority  must  be  given  before   the  English  navy 


428 


LAKE    ONTAUIO. 


[SEPT.,  1813. 


'mm'""-: 


'W'>J «■  -I  '■ '.' 


U:^; 


Wf/: 


would  be  allowed  nxciiLsive  possession  of  llic  seas.  The  issue 
there,  as  on  (ho  lal<es,  was  changed  to  a  uiere  question  of  num- 
bers, the  power  of  ii'jral  or  accrocUted  superiority  being  trans- 
ferred from  the  Enghsh  to  tiio  American  flag. 

On  Lake  Ontario  the  contest  was  protracted,  expensive  and 
undecided  by  any  such  victory  as  to  settle  tlic  ascendant.  Till 
September  it  was  a  contest  of  sliip  building.  From  the  fith  to 
the  1  nil  of  that  month,  iiowcver,  while  Perry  was  conquering 
Barclay  on  Lake  Erie,  Chauncey  waschasing  Yco's  fleet,  in  most 
respects  superior  to  his,  until  at  last  so  far  successful,  as  to  bring 
Yeo  to  a  running  action  on  the  2Sth  of  September,  of  no  important 
result,  beyond  conviction  on  both  sides,  that  the  dominion  of  the 
waves  was  no  longer  British.  Chauncey,  with  liis  ship  the  Pike, 
the  only  one  of  the  American  fleet  that  could  sail  as  fast  as  those 
of  the  enemy,  except  her  small  attendant,  the  dovernor  Tomp- 
kins, gallantly  commanded  by  Lieutenant  Finch,  now  Captain 
IJolton,  brought  Yeo  to  battle  in  his  ship  the  Wolfe,  which  was 
much  cut  up.  The  English  commodore  was  fortunate  enough 
to  escape,  however,  his  ignoble  retreat  being  bravely  covered 
by  Captain  JNInlcaster  in  the  Royal  George,  who  threw  his  ship 
between  his  own  commander  and  ours, and  took  tlie  iatter's  fire. 
Chauiicoy's  seamanship  and  intrepidity  on  that  occasion  were 
much  applauded.  But  from  his  first  mistake  that  spring,  when 
he  carried  Dearborn  to  the  attack  on  York  in  April,  instead  of 
Kingston,  as  Dearborn's  orders  and  Armstrong's  plan  required,  to 
Chauncoy's  last  misapprehension,  by  which  he  lost  the  greatest 
naval  opportunity  of  the  war,  his  career  was  rather  a  series  of 
able  na'  al  evolutions,  in  vain  atten)pts  to  bring  a  skilful  and  wary 
antagonist  to  action,  than  anything  further,  after  Yeo's  escape  by 
flight  with  superior  forces  on  the  28th  September,  1813.  He 
took  refuge  with  his  fleet  under  Burlington  Heights,  where  Chaun- 
cey might  have  attacked,  and  in  all  probability  would  have  taki.n 
or  destroyed  the  whole  British  marine  on  Lake  Ontario.  But 
he  was  uidbrtunately  misinformed  by  the  oflicer  sent  in  the 
Lady  of  the  Lake,  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy's  position,  who  re- 
ported thai  Yeo  with  his  fleet  had  taken  refuge  in  Kingston. — 
The  English  commodore  did  in  fact  make  good  his  retreat  to 
Kingston,  by  passing  Chauncey,  misinformed,  and  unaware  of 
his  mistake.  The  British  had  batteries  and  land  troops  at  Bur- 
lington Heights,  for  the  protection  of  Yco's  fleet  while  lying  there, 


KPT.,  1S13. 


CHAP.  XI.l 


LAKE    WARFARE. 


429 


before  tlioy  escupod  into  Kingston.  Tho  autumnal  season  was 
considerably  advanced,  llif?  weather  stormy  and  unfavourable,  so 
that  it  would  bo  unjust  .u  blame  Commodore  Chauncey  for  not 
subduing  his  enemy,  of  whose  position  in  fact  lie  was  unluckily 
misinformed.  lUit  the  impression  at  the  time  was  tliat,  except- 
ing tiie  chance  in  the  summer  of  1812,  of  capturing  the  Ihitish 
ships  oil  tlie  Halifax  station,  it  was  Commodore  Chauncey's 
misfortune  to  miss  much  the  greatest  opportunity  during  tlie  war 
of  a  naval  achievement  calculated  to  shed  lustre  on  our  arms,  and 
to  spread  astonishment,  if  not  consternation,  among  oui  enemies. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  just  at  that  time  General  Hampton 
had  been  repulsed  in  his  feeble  attempt  to  invade  Canada,  and 
general  Wilkinson  was  preparing  for  his  inglorious  descent  upon 
Montreal.  For  that  purpose  Chauncey  had  at  least  secured  the 
conmiand  oi'  Lake  Ontario;  and  on  the  1st  October,  ISIo,  he 
reported  himself  to  General  Wilkinson  as  in  a  coadition  to  pro- 
tect and  assist  the  embarkation  of  the  army,  to  be  carried  from 
Lake  Ontario, down  the  St.  Lawrence.  That  unfor'unaie  expe- 
dition was  severely  interrupted  by  Captaii  Mulcaster  and  other 
officers,  and  vessels  sent  by  Commodore  Yeo  for  that  purpose. 

War  never  exhibited  efforts  so  uselessly  disproportionate,  both 
by  water  and  land  to  the  prize  contended  for,  if  that  was  the 
command  of  Lake  Ontario  and  its  shores,  as  when  large  fleets 
chased  each  other  round  that  little  sea,  land-locked  by  hostile 
shores,  on  whicli  numerous  armies,  fortifications,  garrisons,  and 
dock-yards  were  either  stationary  or  marching,  during  the  spring, 
summer  and  autumn  of  lSi;i.  During  all  that  period,  on  neither 
land  nor  water  was  there  any  considerable  encounter  of  the  hos- 
tile forces,  but  many  months  were  consumed  in  the  petty  forays 
of  border  feuds,  at  vast  cost  of  bloodshed,  national  character  and 
popular  forbearance.  Sackett's  Harbour  and  Kingston,  the  re- 
spective naval  head-quarters,  were,  as  might  be  said,  almost  within 
sound  of  the  watch-word  of  each  other's  sentinels.  Desertion,  a 
common  vice  in  the  American  army,  was  so  frequent  in  the  En- 
glish, that  a  day  seldom  occurred  without  two  or  three  deserters 
from  an  English  to  an  American  station  in  that  region.  It  was 
computed  that  in  the  course  of  that  campaign,  at  least  five  hnn- 
dretl  British  soldiers  deserted  to  the  United  States,  as  many  as  a 
full  regiment  of  men,  at  a  time  when  the  British  armies  were  ex- 
tremely in  want  of  additional  troops.     It  was  said  to  be  no  small 


m 


il|:$^ 


430 


LAKR    SIIIP-BriLniNO. 


[SKPT.,  1813. 


part  of  tho  duty  of  the  Eni,'lish  sohliory,  to  prevent  tlir;  dosiM'tion 
of  the  Irish,  while,  as  will  appear  in  the  next  chapter,  the  (lovcr- 
iior-(»eneral  of  ('anada,  by  orders  from  liis  s'^verei^n,  was  pro- 
ciainiinjf  death  on  tlie  gibbet  to  all  siieh  Hrllish  born  snbjeets,  as 
should  be  taken,  though  naturalized  American  citizens,  in  arms 
against  the  King  of  Clrcat  Hritain.  Commodore  ('hauncey's  last 
ami  greatest  success,  on  the  return  from  his  abandonment  of  the 
attempt  against  Yeo  mider  Hurlinglon  Heights,  was  the  capture 
of  four  of  tho  smaller  vessels  of  the  English  lleet,  with  three 
hundred  German  troops  and  Major  Grant  on  board  of  them; 
for  th(!  atrocious  attempt  to  enforce  the  principle  of  native  alle- 
giance by  the  gallows,  which  will  l)e  explained  in  tho  next 
chapter,  was  made  by  Great  IJritain,  with  armies  consisting  of 
the  inhabitants  of  various  (ierman  sovereignties,  besides  French- 
men, Spaniards,  Italians,  otiier  n-"Tcenaries  and  vagabonds. 

The  groat  contest  of  1SI;3,  o  :  Lake  Ontario,  was  that  of  ship 
building,  conducted  by  INIr.  Henry  Kcklbrd,  an  English  ship- 
wright, on  our  port  at  SacUett's  Harbour,  with  wonderful  expe- 
dition, and  as  far  as  he  was  concerned,  connnendable  skill  and 
success.  Ship  after  ship,  the  Madison  and  the  Pike,  till  at  last  a 
very  large  ship  of  the  line  called  tlie  Sup'^rior,  were  converted  with 
amazing  expedition  from  tho  green  forests  of  that  region,  into 
vessels  of  war,  and  manned  by  hundreds  of  seamen  withdrawn 
from  tiie  ocean  for  that  purpose.  For  many  years  after  peace, 
the  huge  hulks  of  some  of  these  vessels  remained  on  the  shores  of 
that  lake,  monuments  of  tiie  contest  between  Great  liritain  and  the 
United  Slates,  to  construct  armaments  on  a  lake,  which  contest 
it  w^as  tiiu  policy  of  our  government  to  have  prevented  by  more 
profitable  expenditures  in  another  direction.  Nearly  two  millions 
of  dollars  was  the  sum  upon  which  commissions  were  allowed 
at  the  treasury,  and  paid  for  ship  building  on  Lake  Ontario. — 
Captain  Jones,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  who  had  been  a  ship- 
master in  the  merchant  service  at  the  port  of  Philadelphia,  a 
zealous,  intelligent,  and  indefatigable  oliicer,  was  cordially  well 
disposed  to  wage  the  war  vigorously.  Hut  his  predilections  were 
for  the  high  seas,  where  he  had  formed  them.  He  had  no  know- 
ledge of  the  lake  service,  or  adequate  idea  of  its  importance. — 
Mr.  Gallatin's  temporary  absence  from  the  treasury,  as  he  and 
the  president  insisted  on  deeming  it,  while  abroad  in  Europe  im- 
portuning peace,  in  addition  to  the  many  inherent  disadvantages 
of  that  department,  devolved  its  ad  inlerini  and  perfunctory 


S^'l 


CHAP.  XI,] 


I.OIU)    COCHUANR'S     MOTION. 


431 


idvatitagos 


management  upon  Captain  Jones,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy. — 
Either  the  navy  or  the  trea.siiry  department  at  that  conjnncinrc, 
was  as  inueh  as  any  one  man  of  eoii.sideiiible  abilities  could  at- 
tend to.  IJotli  those!  departi  lents  were  beyond  the  capacity  of 
any  man.  Throughout  the  war  tiie  navy  snil'itred  for  want  of 
due  appreciation  of  its  vital  importance  as  a  ])rimary  function  of 
the  government,  both  at  sea  and  on  the  laiies:  while  the  trea- 
sury was  derelict  for  more  than  a  year  after  the  war  was  declared, 
when,  it  being  impossible  any  longer  to  believe  either  in  Mr. 
Gallatin's  return,  or  the  success  of  his  mission,  Mr.  George  VV. 
Campbell,  of  Tennessee,  was  at  last  appointed  Secretary  of  tlic 
Treasury. 

In  the  midst  of  tiicsc  naval  proceedings  upon  the  seas  and  the 
lakes,  which  if  ])roperly  conducted  must  have  had  much  greater 
ctfect,  and  neglected  as  the  navy  was,  were  jiroductive  never- 
theless of  the  happiest  results,  for  they  saved  tlie  army,  the  go- 
vernment, the  country,  and  the  war  from  discomfilwre,  among 
the  many  ollicial  notices  taken  of  the  subject  in  Great  IJritain, 
some  of  which  have  been  already  mentioned  in  tiiis  chapter, 
tlit  re  was  one  by  Lord  Cochrane,  in  tlie  House  of  Commons, 
wliicli,  more  than  any  otiicr,  explains  tiie  philosophy  of  English 
naval  declension,  and  American  naval  ascendancy.  Lord  Coch- 
rane, if  I  am  not  mistaken,  now  surviving  as  the  Earl  of  Dun- 
donald,  was  an  English  naval  ollicer,  who,  by  involving  himself 
with  the  party  politics  of  that  kingdom,  fell  under  the  proscrip- 
tivc  power  of  an  intolerant  executive,  for  the  most  part  able, 
notwithstanding  a  free  press,  trial  by  jury  nud  many  other 
bulwarks  of  individual  liberty,  to  crush  tl  vho  provoke  its 

displeasure.  He  was,  however,  an  olhcer  wnoso  naval  exploits 
have  never  been  surpassed,  a  man  of  the  utmost  intrepidity,  scien- 
tific, intelligent,  and  full  of  resource,  whose  views  of  the  causes 
of  the  unexpected  successes  of  the  American  over  the  British  navy, 
although  at  that  time  derided  and  rejected,  have  since  received 
the  highest  acknowledgment  by  adoption  by  the  British  govern- 
ment. In  July,  1813,  Lord  Cochrane  submitted  a  series  of  reso- 
lutions in  the  House  of  Conniions,  which,  though  faintly  by  argu- 
ment, were  even  furiously  by  invective,  attacked  by  Croker,  the 
Secretary  of  the  Admiralty.  Ui:i:nswerable  as  the  doctrine  of 
these  resolutions  was,  it  was  too  unpalatable  for  the  acquiescence 
wliich  national  pride  and  ollicial  tenacity  must  have  made  too 


1*1  h 


432 


COCHRANE'S    MOTION. 


[SVl.f,  1HI3. 


!A' 


i''- 


f-h^ 


*^:t; 

■', 

;^^;? 

',!;'" 

r*a' 

•^r. 

■'  '^  ■ 

|ir: 

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I'hv 

Viiv;" 

■i*_. .'  -' 

I'V""''  •' 

■  i'- 

.  1    ■ 

*    .;. 

m 

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if  lit' ?'.;.'«' 

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igfvTOi^tr 

Svi ''  ,  ■'  •  ■  ■ 

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g| 

P^?? 

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P"''   ^. 

1^  •'.''"-" 

IP  ^^Vt':^ 

great  a  sacrifice  at  once  to  yirld.  It  is  iloctriiio,  too  ralioiuil,iiot 
only  as  pari  of  tlio  liistory  of  tliat  time,  hiil  the  |)liilo.su|)liy  ul' 
govenirnoiit  at  all  tinuis,  not  to  dcsorve  I'spccial  rcnicinhiancu. 
History,  patriotism,  and  lininanity  concur  to  hold  it  up  lo  ail 
govcjrnni'Mits  and  nations.  'I'lio  cause  of  our  lainentabli!  dult.'ats, 
said  that  experienced  and  ahle  mariner,  is  not  the  enemy's  supe- 
riority in  skill  or  valour,  nor  the  well-known  dilFerence  in  weight 
of  metal,  heretofore  deemed  unimportant.  [Captain  Cardcn,  with 
the  Irigate  Macedonian  at  Norfolk,  hefore  the  war,  told  ('aptaiii 
Decatur  that  in  the  IJritish  service  eighleen  pound  guns  were 
preferred  to  twenty-four  poundtirs,  because  on  trial  th(>y  were 
found  to  answer  better.]  The  dill'erence,  said  Cochrane,  arises 
from  the  decayed  and  hcsarlless  state  of  Knglish  crews,  compan^d 
with  their  energy  and  zeal  in  lormer  wars,  wIkmi  they  suhdued 
the  Dutch,  the  French,  and  Sj)anish;  and  compared  on  the  other 
liand  with  the  freshness  and  vigour  of  the  American  crews. 
Continual  warfare,  long  confinement,  monotony  of  life,  are  sulli- 
cicnt  physical  explanations  of  the  decline  of  the  IJritish  navy ; 
decay  of  body  which  jjroduces  despondency  of  mind.  Impress- 
ment, service  for  life  iti  actual  and  hateful  captivity,  above  all, 
impossibility  of  promotion  from  common  seamen  to  connnissioned 
officers — these  grievances  Lord  Cochrane  urged  as  reasons  why 
the  navy  of  Great  Britain  was  filled  with  superamiuated,  disabled, 
disheartened  mariners,  who  had  l)ut  one  ruling  passion,  which 
was  to  escape  from  the  wooden  walls  lo  which  they  were  chained 
in  hopeless  durance.  Ho  suggested  many  ameliorations,  for  what 
to  all  of  English  lineage  can  hardly  fail  to  appear  the  cause  of 
the  melanclioly  declension  of  a  mighty  marine,  compared  with 
that  young  and  vigorous,  however  much  smaller  one,  with 
which  it  was  unexpectedly  brought  into  collision,  and  by  which 
it  was  triumphantly  vanquished,  without  reference  to  the  pool 
pretexts  alleged  by  ignorant  apologists  or  interested  deceivers. 

In  vain  Mr.  Croker  urged  with  eloquence  the  cheering  on  board 
the  Macedonian  and  the  Java,  proceeding,  he  averred,  son)etimes 
even  from  the  cockpit,  as  evidence  of  the  undismayed  and  invin- 
cible IJritish  spirit  which  animated  the  sailors.  Undoubtedly 
enthusiasm  is  one  proof  of  vigour,  and  essential  to  every  under- 
taking, whether  to  gain  battles,  or  manufacture  pins.  But  the 
noisy  stimulation  Secretary  Croker  extolled  was  one  of  the 
very  evidences  of  the  fainting  ardour  of  the  English  marine, 


CHAP.  XI.] 


NAVAL    SII'KIIIOIIITY. 


433 


compared  with  the  .stern,  ruhn,  orderly,  and  disci'thnod  ardour 
of  the  Anioricaii.  More  freedom,  according  to  Coclirane's  plii- 
iosopliy,  was  what  tlie  Knghsh  wanted  and  Americans  enjoyed. 
There  was  no  Sahbath,  no  jubilee,  no  rest,  no  rejoicing  Cor  the 
wearied  and  exhausted  mariners  of  England,  Admiral  Colling- 
wood,  Nelson's  second  at  the  battle  of  Trafalgar,  languished  till 
he  died  of  irk.some  confinement  on  a  ship.  Napoleon's  downfall 
was  accelerated  and  much  facilitated  by  the  lulcewarmness  of  his 
marshals  and  generals,  puiiils  fatigued  with  the  perpetual  warfare 
to  which  tlieir  master  fell  a  victim.  If  the  summits  thus  wither, 
what  must  be  the  decay  of  the  roots?  When  the  pri/i^  money 
given  by  Congress  to  the  crews  of  the  Constitution  for  tin;  cap- 
ture of  the  Ciuerriere  and  the  Constitution  was  distributed,  tliosa 
brave  men  were  talain  ashore,  paraded  at  theatres,  in  new  cloth- 
ing, regaled,  complimented  and  gratified  as  the  English  sailor 
could  never  hope  to  be,  even  though  his  final  reward  by  hos- 
pitals and  pensions  be  more  promising  than  that  of  the  Ameri- 
can. Lord  ('ochranc,  or  any  other  man  familiar  with  seafaring 
persons,  indeed  any  one  regarding  the  workings  of  humaniiy, 
could  not  fail  to  perceive  the  dill'erence  in  the  whole  experience 
of  the  English  and  the  American  seamen  at  tluit  period.  The 
careless  beings  and  peculiar  people,  whose  cause  Lord  Cochrane 
espoused,  without  home  on  sliore,  widiout  fiimily,  without  prize 
money,  with  no  other  than  marine  recreation,  without  a  sen- 
timent but  that  of  mere  national  renown,  without  sympathy, 
compelled  to  drag  out  a  weary  existence  of  uninterrupted  service 
at  sea,  galley  slaves,  impressed  and  im|n'isoned  for  life,  contend- 
ing without  a  cause,  or  against  it,  with  fresh,  yet  experienced 
mariners  lighting  lor  their  own  freedom  I'rom  press  gangs — how 
could  the  issue  be  other  than  it  was?  On  the  other  hand,  the 
doubt  of  the  American  navy  which  would  have  laid  it  up  in 
1312,  was  the  European  disparagement  of  America,  which 
began  by  assigning  littleness  to  the  size  of  men,  their  growth, 
age,  and  manhood  on  this  continent,  inferiority  of  everything 
American  to  everything  European.  That  European  arrogance 
has  been  in  gradual  dispersion  since  it  first  began.  Where  man 
is  better  fed,  housed,  clothed,  educated,  and  more  independent, 
why  should  he  not  be  a  superior  being?  Liberty  and  law  com- 
bined have  enabled  England  to  overcome  other  nations  much 
more  numerous  than  Great  Britain.  In  the  war  of  1S12  those 
VOL.  I. — 37 


'^-yrr'rr 


m 


.■.■I',~ 


434 


AMERICAN    CAPTURES. 


[JULY,  1813. 


great  means  of  national  capacity  were  exerted  for  the  first  time 
under  stress  of  war  in  tlie  United  States,  w^lien  tlieir  happiest 
combination  was  in  the  American  navy. 

Before  tiie  end  of  IS  13  the  British  had  lost  by  capture  the  fri- 
gates Guerricre,  Macedonian,  and  Java;  the  sloops  Alert,  Frolic, 
and  Duke  of  Gloucester,  brigs  Peacock,  Dominica,  Boxer  and 
Detroit,  and  schooner  llighllyer,  with  270  guns;  by  sea  perils  in 
operations  against  the  United  States  the  frigates  Southamptom 
and  Barbadoes,  the  brigs  Emulous,  Plumper,  Avenger,  Falcon, 
Magnet,  Moselle,  and  Persian,  the  schooners  Chub  and  Subtle, 
with  218  guns,  altogether  twenty-two  vessels  of  war  captured  or 
lost,  with  4S9  guns.  In  that  time  the  United  States'  loss  amounted 
to  1 17  guns  taken  with  seven  vessels  of  war,  the  ships  Chesapeake 
and  Wasp,  brigs  Nautilus,  Vixen  and  Viper,  schooners  Growler 
and  Julia  retaken.  To  tiiese  adding  the  tieet  on  Lake  Erie,  two 
ships,  the  Detroit  and  Queen  Charlotte,  brig  Hunter,  schooners 
Lady  Prevost  and  Chippewa,  and  sloop  Little  Belt,  six  vessels 
with  (iO  guns,  and  the  number  of  our  captures  was  twenty-six 
war  vessels  with  560  guns,  wiiile  theirs  was  seven  war  vessels 
with  119  guns,  and  two  by  storms,  the  Hamilton  and  Scourge, 
with  18  guns  together.  When  Captain  Yeo,  in  the  Southampton 
frigate,  took  Captain  Reed  in  the  Vixen,  and  a  storm  followed, 
endangering  the  captor,  whose  men  broke  into  the  liquor  room, 
got  drunk  and  became  ungovernable,  as  seamen  sometimes  do 
in  emergencies  of  weather,  Vco  appealed  to  Reed  for  help,  and 
the  American  prisoners  were  mainly  instrumental  with  their 
oflicers,  in  saving  their  English  conquerors  (by  superior  num- 
bers) from  destruction,  as  publicly  acknowledged  by  Yeo.  To 
this  imperfect  list  of  comparative  losses  by  the  war,  the  captures 
by  privateers  would  make  a  long  addition,  leaving  the  balance 
still  with  the  Americans.  British  seizures  before  the  war  for 
alleged  breach  of  blockade,  colonial  trade,  orders  in  council,  or 
otlier  pretexts  for  depredation  on  American  commerce,  probably 
exceeded  their  capture  from  us  during  the  war.  For,  as  th':, 
president's  first  war  message  well  argued,  hostilities  had  loiig 
been  carried  on  against  us,  which  would  continually  increase  till 
we  returned  them.  Renovation  of  naval  and  national  character 
was,  liowever,  the  most  important  acquiL.ition  which  maritime 
events  gained  for  the  United  States,  and  in  the  count  of  cost  far 
outweighs  all  the  losses  of  the  war. 


LLir\ 


,  :  ,  •      f 


CHAP.  XI.] 


NAVAL    COMPARISON. 


435 


Great  Britain  had  afloat  in  the  year  1813,  with  no  other 
enemy  after  April  than  the  United  States,  about  1,000,000  of 
tonnage  and  1 10,000  seamen,  in  her  navy:  120  ships  of  the  line, 
10  sliips  rating  from  50  to  44  gans  each,  130  frigates,  100  sloops 
of  war,  and  more  than  120  war  brigs.  Yet  in  three  years  of 
hostilities  the  frigate  Chesapeake  was  the  only  American  vessel 
taken  by  her  navy  from  onrs  on  anything  like  equal  terms.  Such 
disparity  proves  that  the  supposed  prepotency  of  tlie  English 
navy  is  not  a  well-founded  apprehension. 

The  American  navy  of  1S12  was  the  most  perfect  in  the 
world;  every  vessel  in  fine  order,  every  oflicer  confident,  yet 
prudent;  every  sailor  fighting  for  himself.  It  was  like  Crom- 
well's army  of  republican  enthusiasts,  or  Bonaparte's  of  repub- 
lican conscripts,  every  soldier  a  patriot,  every  officer  a  hero. 
Great  fleets  and  large  armies  do  not  better  develop,  if  they  do 
not  obscure  national  characteristics,  as  fully  displayed  in  smaller 
bodies,  perhaps  more  so.  No  matter  what  the  numbers,  wherever 
perfect  obedience  and  adequate  intelligence  are  combined  with 
patriotic  enthusiasm,  victory  is  a  moral  certainty,  over  compul- 
sory, mercenary,  and  dull  submission.  Seafaring  habits  are 
doubtless  required  for  maritime  success.  But,  as  the  freemen  of 
England,  with  their  broad  and  deep  commercial  foundations, 
stand  firmer  than  the  Dutch,  French,  or  other  men  less  free,  if 
not  less  nautical,  on  the  rock  of  marine  power,  the  superiority 
of  American  mariners  may  be  explained  by  the  greater  range  of 
their  adventurous  voyages  and  the  greater  liberty  of  their  habi- 
tual occupations.  The  great  Asiatic  aipire  of  North-eastern 
Europe,  the  vast  empire  of  Russia,  had  in  1813,  fifty-three  line- 
of-battlc  ships,  thirty-lour  frigates,  fifty-nine  cutters  and  war- 
brigs,  mounting  altogether  four  thousand  four  hundred  and 
twenty-eight  cannons,  manned  by  sixty  thousand  seamen,  many 
of  them  expert  Greeks.  Would  that  Russian  navy  have  been 
formidalile  to  the  navy  of  the  United  States?  in  which  liberty 
was  a  right,  discipline  so  perfect  and  constant,  that  battle  was 
recreation,  order  so  habitual,  that  battle  was  without  other  noise 
than  that  of  firearms. 

That  war  gave  the  American  navy  advantages  whicli  it  luay 
never  have  again  :  the  British  navy  had  disadvantages  to  con- 
tend wiUi  which  it  will  not  have  in  another  war  with  this  conn- 
try.    The  American  seamen  had  a  cause,  their  own  cause,  in 


^r' 


•*.:.; 


436 


NEW     ENGLAND. 


[JULY,  1813. 


m:.  ^^'  !> 


lilt 

&'f*PwS' 

'  . 

k-'-i-^ 

'X-'  ^^^' 

V;  -^  't'i 

\ ''?''?  • 

T.    ' 

c'^' 

'«    '.' 

.  -^  *  ^ 

* 

■^.^  *• 

S 

(:•: 

t 

I'r 


.'V  , 


1 


which  they  were  animated  by  indignation  against  oppressors. 
The  British  seamen  had  no  such  motive.  The  hatred  they  bore 
the  French,  if  not  a  rational,  at  any  rate  a  national  and  natural 
incentive,  did  not  exist  towards  the  Americans.  The  English 
seaman  fought  f/om  the  habit  of  obedience  to  command;  the 
American  with  all  iiis  heart.  British  naval  oliicers,  at  first 
almost  disarmed  by  contempt  for  their  foes,  even  after  that  sen- 
timent changed  to  one  more  respectful,  still  could  neither  divest 
themselves  of  it  entirely  nor  substitute  for  it  the  animosity  which 
British  story  and  British  song  had  for  ages  engraved  on  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  both  officers  and  men  against  the  Dutch,  the 
French,  the  Spanish,  and  the  Danes.  To  no  navy  have  those 
hostilities  been  so  edifying  as  to  the  English.  Nearly  all  Coch- 
rane's  suggestions  are  adopted.  The  men,  though  still  enlisted 
till  discharged,  are  not  impressed,  probably  would  not  be  in  war. 
Their  rations  are  much  improved.  Their  treatment  is  kindness. 
They  get  their  pay  whenever  they  land,  a  great  advantage  over 
the  American  service.  They  are,  indeed,  no  longer  acknow- 
ledged lords  of  the  ocean :  but  their  claim  to  that  high  title  they 
may  yet  assert  with  better  right  than  in  1S12. 

M<"'re  men  or  more  shi^js  do  not  make  irresistible  navies :  but 
more  practical  mariners,  with  greater  toils  in  lives  of  adventure 
by  sea.  Fisheries  and  tonnage  enabled  France  to  contend  with 
England  for  its  dominion.  And  in  that  contention  North-east- 
ern America  performed  a  conspicuous  part.  Wresting  those 
foundations  of  a  marine  from  France,  Great  Britain  seized  the 
sceptre  of  the  ocean.  Without  them,  Halifax  for  the  refitment 
of  her  shipping,  the  seacoast  of  Nova  Scotia,  and  fisheries  of 
Newfoundland,  without  American  naval  resources,  which  are 
contiguous  to  New  England,  Great  Britain  would  be  impotent 
for  war  with  the  United  States.  By  that  human  perversity 
which  misleads  the  most  intelligent  people  and  defeats  the  most 
rational  designs,  the  blinded  sagacity  of  New  England  preferred 
what  was  not  even  passive  co-operation  with  Great  Britain  in 
the  war  of  1812,  to  patriotic  exertion.  As  far  as  they  could,  the 
American  naval  flag  was  dishonoured  and  the  maritime  develop- 
ment of  New  England  marred.  But  for  them,  that  contest 
might  have  vastly  augmented  the  power  of  the  eastern  states. 
Nor  was  it  inconsiderate  passion  which  fettered  their  own  limbs. 
Sordid  miscalculation  made  the  false  imjiression  that  trade  was 


■  i'^i^ 


M 


CHAP.  XI.] 


WHALEMEN. 


437 


more  profitable  than  war ;  that  even  illicit  trade  was  more 
desirable  than  assisting  their  own  government  to  enlarge  all  the 
avenues  of  trade  by  momentarily  closing  them.  They  may  not 
confess,  but  they  cannot  but  see  their  error.  The  war  from 
which  they  held  back,  among  other  influences,  taught  extreme 
sectional  disatlection  the  costly  folly  of  its  irrational  indulgence. 
Such  resolutions  as  Mr.  Quincy's,  such  conventions  as  that  of 
Hartford,  the  local  and  personal  hallucina'ions  of  partisan  excess, 
began  and  ended  with  that  war,  never  to  be  repeated.  It  made 
an  American  nation  and  the  American  navy,  in  spite  of  the 
many  educated,  rich,  and  pious  heretics,  the  respectable  but  infa- 
tuated of  Massachusetts  and  Coimocticut,  whose  factious  resist- 
ance could  not  prevent  those  results;  who  paid  the  penalty  of 
exclusion  from  national  consideration,  by  bhidly  opposing  their 
own  advancement.  Nantucket,  tlie  cradle  of  American  mari- 
time pre-eminence,  was  not  only  represented  in  Congress  by  a 
gentleman  of  the  Boston  infiituation  ;  br.t  it  \vu.5  only  not  a 
^tile  possession  througiiout  the  war,  because  the  enemy  deemed 
■'  '■'  sail'cctcd  to  the  United  States,  excluded  from  his  blockades, 
:iiid  entitled  to  his  pvotection.  The  south  and  the  west,  the  whole 
Union,  would  have  def(Mided  Nantucket  in  1812,  as  they  did 
Boston  in  1775,  if  Nantucket  had  been  what  Boston  was.  But 
lamentable  degeneracy  had  succeeded  the  revolutionary  spirit  of 
American  independence.  Beibre  the  disruption  of  America 
from  (Ireat  liritain,  the  mariners  of  New  England,  particularly 
the  whalers  of  Nantucket,  had  been  celebrated  by  the  first  of 
English  phil'^sophers  as  the  most  expert  seamen  of  the  world. 
'•  And  pray,  sir,"  said  Bu-ko,  "  what  in  the  world  is  equal  to  it? 
Pass  by  the  other  parts  and  look  at  the  maimer  in  which  the 
people  of  New  England  have  of  late  carried  on  the  whale 
fishery.  Whilst  we  follow  them  among  the  tumbling  mountains 
of  icn,  and  behold  them  penetrating  into  the  deepest  frozen 
recesses  of  Hudson's  liay  and  Davis'  Straits,  whilst  M'e  are 
looking  for  them  beneath  the  Arctic  circle,  we  hear  that  they 
have  pierced  into  the  opposite  region  of  polar  cold,  th,at  they  are 
at  the  antipodes,  and  engaged  under  the  frozen  serpent  of  the 
south.  Falkland  island,  which  seemed  too  remote  and  romantic 
an  object  tor  the  grasp  of  national  ambition,  is  but  a  stage  and 
a  resting  place  in  the  progress  of  t'leir  victorious  industry.  Nor 
is  the  equinoctial  heat  more  discouraging  to  them  than  the  accu- 

37* 


ii    : 


h' 


«:i^' 


a-"* 


I "      '^  '.■'■  -■  ■■'  ' 

Jst"  ■'^■=• 
1   t-f    '  . 


"f:. 


ri^; 


438 


NAVAL    POWER. 


[JULY,  1813, 


mulated  winter  of  both  poles.  We  know  that  Avhilst  some  of 
them  draw  the  hne  and  strike  the  harpoon  on  the  coast  of  Africa, 
others  run  the  longitude  and  pursue  their  gigantic  game  along 
the  coast  of  Brazil.  No  sea  but  what  is  vexed  by  their  fisheries. 
No  climate  that  is  not  witness  to  their  toils.  Neither  the  perse- 
verance of  Holland,  nor  the  activity  of  France,  nor  the  dex- 
terous and  firm  sagacity  of  British  enterprize  ever  carried  this 
most  perilous  mode  of  liardy  industry  to  the  extent  to  which  it 
has  been  pushed  by  this  recent  people  ;  a  people  who  are  still, 
as  it  were,  but  in  the  gristle,  and  not  yet  hardened  into  the  bon-:! 
of  manhood.  When  I  contemplate  these  things  ;  when  I  know 
that  the  colonies  in  general  owe  little  or  nothing  to  any  care  of 
ours,  and  that  they  are  not  squeezed  into  this  happy  form  by  the 
constraints  "f  watchful  and  suspicious  government,  but  that 
through  a  wise  and  salutary  neglect,  a  generous  nature  has  been 
suffered  to  take  her  own  way  to  perfection  ;  when  I  reflect  upon 
these  etiects,  when  I  see  how  profitable  they  have  been  to  us,  I 
feel  all  the  price  of  power  sink,  and  all  presumption  in  the  wis- 
dom of  human  contrivances  melt  and  die  away  within  me.  My 
rigour  relents.     I  pardon  something  to  the  spirit  of  liberty." 

There,  from  English  authority,  grew  the  roots  of  American 
naval  superiority,  as  signalized  in  the  naval  victories  of  1812 
and  1813  over  the  gieat  European  naval  masters  of  mankind. 
Longer  and  more  adventurous  voyages,  nurseries  of  seamen  bet- 
ter than  English  collieries,  greater  personal  freedom,  with  more 
docility,  submitting  to  higher  discipline,  and  a  great  cause,  were 
advantages  which  the  American  navy  enjoyed  over  that  of  Great 
Britain.  The  contumelious  attack  on  tlie  frigate  Chesapeake, 
in  American  waters,  ;vas  the  last  indignity  of  the  press-gang, 
against  which  vengeance  was  treasured  up  till  taken,  ;)s  retribu- 
tion for  such  wrongs  is  apt  to  be.  The  United  States  anxiously 
and  humbly  strove  to  render  the  peace  uf  1783  perpetual.  Great 
Britain  insisted  on  turning  it  into  a  treacherous  truce,  and  a  truce 
of  continual  tribulation  for  this  country.  Nothing  was  ever  more 
false  than  George  the  Third's  much  mentioned  reception  of  the 
first  Amer'oan  minister  John  Adams,  that  as  he  had  been  the 
last  to  agree  to  peace  with  the  United  States,  so  he  would  be  the 
last  to  break  it.  It  was  broken  continually  by  his  ministers  from 
its  signature  to  the  declaration  of  war  again  in  1812.  In  that 
second  war,  Great  Britain  gave  the  United  States  a  navy  to  cope 


'f: 


CHAP.  XI.] 


NAVAL    KEVVARDS. 


439 


with  hers,  instead  of  the  perpetual  peace  and  iiiofl'enaive  com- 
merce which  they  much  preferred.  With  the  iron,  the  timber, 
the  cordage,  the  materials  of  slup-building,  swifter  ships,  and 
shorter  voyages,  with  less  numerous  crews,  less  losses  from  sea- 
perils — with  all  the  materials,  inducements  and  the  spirit  of 
navigation,  nothing  but  the  overweening  influence  of  England 
in  America  could  beget  the  misapprehensions  of  IS  12.  J3y  the 
first  war  Great  Britain  forced  political  independence  on  the 
TJjiited  States  of  America.  By  the  second  war  she  endowed 
th'jm  with  a  navy.  American  tonnage  is  running  with  that  of 
Gicat  Brituin  the  race  of  peaceable  commerce,  if  she  will  sutler 
it.  If  not  what  has  rendered  Great  Britain  the  greatest  naval 
power,  may  enable  Americans  to  vii?dicate  their  rights,  against 
European  interference.  The  talisman  is  made  of  Liueutv  with 
Law. 

While  the  Senate  of  Massachusetts  resolved  that  it  was  unbe- 
coming to  rejoice  in  American  naval  victories,  against  which 
mucli  o''  the  press  and  the  pulpit  fulminations  of  New  England 
were  aimed,  Dacres,  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  was  received  with 
more  cordial  welcome  at  Boston  than  Hull,  his  captor,  Decatur's 
squadron,  blockaded  at  New  London  by  Hardy's,  was  in  danger 
of  destruction  by  means  of  treasonable  signals  from  the  shore  to 
the  enemy,  and  his  sentiment  of  loyalty  to  our  country,  right  or 
wrong,  was  repudiated  by  large  numbers  of  respectable  Ameri- 
cans, persisting  in  disaffected  designs  to  defeat  the  war  and  dis- 
honour, if  not  abandon  the  navy,  public  sentiment  throughout 
all  other  parts  of  the  United  Slates,  and  the  will  of  a  majority 
of  the  good  people  of  New  England  coinciding  with  it,  displayed 
itself  in  gratt^ful  and  substantial  acknowledgment  of  those  victo- 
ries, showering  honours  upon  the  bravo  men  who  gained  them. 
The  thanks  of  Congress,  and  gold  medals  were,  by  resolutions 
of  January,  181.3,  voted  to  Mull,  Dcjcatur,  and  Jones,  also  silver 
medals,  to  each  of  the  commissioned  ollicers  of  the  Constitu- 
tion, the  United  States,  and  the  Wasp,  and  an  elegant  sword 
to  Elliott.  The  legislatures  of  many  states,  the  corporations  of 
cities,  and  various  collections  of  citizens,  bestowed  upon  them 
thanks,  medals,  services  of  plate,  the  freedom  of  cities,  public 
entertainments,  and  other  compliments.  The  naval  oflicers  were 
fj'ted  everywhere.  Even  citizens  of  Boston  subscribed  a  public 
dimicr  to  Hull,  and  the  House  of  Representatives  of  Mcvssachu- 


■■.^^i 


440 


NAVAL    REWARDS. 


[JUNE,  1613. 


fAfy.: 


me 


setis  voted  thanks  to  him,  his  officers,  and  crew.  The  Order  of 
Cincinnati  adniitled  him  as  an  honorary  member.  The  young 
men  of  the  Society  of  Friends  of  Philadelphia  subscribed  for  the 
relations  of  those  who  were  slain  in  the  navrl  actions. 

All  these,  however,  though  by  no  means  barren  or  even  un- 
profitable honours,  were  not  lucrative  or  adequate  :  and  the 
unworthy  parsimony  of  the  twelfth  Congress  was  not  only  seen 
in  their  at  first  refusing  any  pecuniary  reward  to  the  captors  of 
the  Guerriere,  and  afterwards  when  something  was  with  diffi- 
culty got  through  the  House  of  Representatives  in  the  expiring 
moments  of  the  session,  cutting  the  sum  down  from  {5100,000 
proposed  by  the  naval  committee,  to  but  850,000  allowed,  by 
which  a  niggardly  precedent  was  set,  but  injustice  was  super- 
added to  unworthy  parsimony,  by  omitting  tlie  crews  of  the 
vessels  from  the  votes  of  thanks,  wliich  were  bestowed  on  the 
officers  aione.  These  omissions  and  misgivings  were  rectified 
as  the  navy  advanced  in  favour,  and  public  sentiment  proclaimed 
its  title  to  regard.  As  has  been  already  stated,  the  pecuniary 
allowance  to  Lawrence,  his  officers,  and  crew,  met  with  no 
opposition,  which  was  voted  the  22d  of  June,  1813,  in  the 
midst  of  the  graver  labours  of  arranging  the  voluminous  tax- 
bills,  but  also  when  the  tidings  of  his  memorable  death  were 
fresh  in  mind.  All  these  g.ants,  inadequate  as  they  were,  com- 
prehended the  crews  as  well  as  the  officers,  upon  the  established 
principles  of  prize-money.  Had  the  captured  ships  been  brought 
nito  port,  instead  of  being  sunk  at  sea,  the  compensation  to  their 
captors  would  have  been  much  larger.  Decatur,  his  officers,  and 
crew, received  ii.200,000for  the  frigate  INIacedonian,  brought  into 
port,  by  decree  of  the  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the 
Eastern  District,  sitting  at  the  city  of  New  York. 

On  the  18th  of  April,  ISM,  the  thirteenth  Congress,  by  act 
authorizing  the  purchase  of  the  vessels  captured  on  Lake  Krie, 
(the  lOth  of  September,  181.3,)  directed  the  president  to  purchase 
them  as  British  vessels,  and  appropriated  the  sum  of  i52")5,000  in 
payment,  to  be  distributed  as  prize-money  among  the  captors 
and  their  heirs;  by  the  same  act  allowing  Captain  Oliver  H. 
Perry  S'JOOO  in  addition  to  his  prize-money,  as  commander  of 
the  ship  Lawrence.  Of  the  whole  sum  allowed,  only  i>242,250 
appears  by  the  treasury  books  to  have  been  paid. 

It  may  mo'  be  amiss  to  add,  although  not  transactions  of  tht 


0?.      1  .  ' 


LM'^ 


CHAP.  XI.] 


NAVAL    REWARDS. 


441 


ins  ol  tilt 


year  1813,  to  tl.is  account  of  naval  pecuniary  rewards,  that  Cap- 
tain liiddio  was  paid  i?^5,000  for  the  Penguin,  Captain  Stewart 
iS25,000  for  tlie  Levant,  tlie  representatives  of  Captain  Blakcley 
i550,000  for  the  Reindeer  and  Avon,  prizes  taken  and  destroyed 
or  lost  at  sea ;  and  Captain  MacDonough,  his  officers  and  crew, 
iS.301,2f)2  GS,  for  the  British  squadron  captured  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain.  All  these  allowances  embraced  crews  and  officers  as  well 
as  captains  or  cc* 'manders.  Commodore  Chauncey  was  paid 
■5523,36.3  46,  commissions  on  iiis  expenditures  on  Lake  Ontario; 
Commodore  Perry  J52000,  on  liis  expenditures  on  Lake  Erie : 
and  Commodore  JMacDonou^h  S5,021  90,  on  his  expenditures  on 
Lake  Champlain. 

These  naval  allowances  were  strong  indications  of  the  growing 
favour  of  the  navy ;  for  none  such  were  made  to  the  army,  or 
militia;  and  all  civil  service,  however  meritorious  and  protracted, 
has  beei;  "instantly  denied  in  the  United  States  any  pension, 
gratuity,  or  compensation,  beyond  the  moderate  salaries  paid 
during  incumbency  of  office.  Martial  celebrities  much  respected 
by  mankind,  are  stinted  by  American  republicanism.  All  titles 
arc  forbid  by  the  federal  constitution  of  1 787,  which  adopts  hi 
this  respect  an  interdict  of  the  confederation  of  1778.  Ambas- 
sadors, though  r-.-iiea  in  tlie  latter,  admirals  and  marshals  have 
never  been  commissioned.  A  lieutenant-general,  or  commandc- 
in-chief,  was  proposed  by  a  resolution  submitted  by  Mr.  William 
H.  Murfree,  of  North  Carolina,  in  the  House  of  Hepresentatives, 
and  believed  to  have  been  thought  of  by  the  president,  but  never 
appointed. 

Donations  and  endowments  sparingly  allowed,  titles  absolutely 
forbid,  are  the  theoretical  conformity  with  the  doctrine  inculcated 
by  Montesquieu,  that  virtue  is  a  principle  indispensable  to  repub- 
lican prosperity.  Greece  and  Rome  flourished  withopt  the  feudal 
seigniorage  with  which  the  monarchies  of  modern  Europe  r.re 
overrun.  Without  permanent  wealth,  mere  titular  rank,  a  prin- 
cipality, dukedom,  or  inarquisate,  is  as  insignificant  as  the  vulgar 
squirearchy.  And  wealth  perpetuated  by  primogeniture  or  en- 
tails, is  the  law  of  but  one  country  pretending  to  free  institutions, 
where  liberty  exists  without  equality. 

No  government,  however,  ancient  or  modern,  no  public  senti- 
ment has  ever  overcome  i)opular  fondness  for  heroic  achieve- 
ments.  Organic  rejection  of  titles,  pensions,  orders,  and  lucrative 


..Sccv--. 


■!-^:|-  ■■■■ 


442 


WAR    REWARDS. 


[JUNE,  1813. 


endowments, forces  national  admiration  into  other  grants;  in  this 
country  t'le  principal  moans  of  gratifying  itself  is  by  conferring 
offices,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest.  Naval  distinction  in  the 
war  of  1812,  though  not  elevated,  has  been  suggested,  as  a  title 
to  the  chief  magistracy  of  the  United  States.  Franklin's  wisdom, 
and  the  genius  of  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
were  postponed  to  the  greater  popularity  of  a  soldier  for  the  first 
president.  The  war  of  1812,  has  already  made  more  than  one  of 
Washington's  successors.  Natural  preference  of  mankind  for 
heroes  has  not  been  subdued  by  republicanism,  whose  rewards, 
excluded  from  the  common  channels  of  wealth,  title  or  hereditary 
privilege,  take  sanctuary  in  other  appropriations.  Wealth  must 
have  attractions  in  all  ages  a'd  countries :  pedigree  is  not  without 
tiiem  in  this.  But,  beyond  the  vulgar  estimate,  for  historical  and 
enduring  distinction,  what  are  dukedoms  and  principalities,  as 
recompense  for  warriors,  or  patents  of  ennoblement,  compared  to 
the  chief  magistracy  of  a  nation?  One  is  the  cube  of  renown, 
of  which  the  other  is  at  most  but  the  square. 


-|^:' 


.■^.■•,:;.(vt'  1. ■■.  . 

Mm<'-  ■..:•:■■ 


[JUNE,  1813. 


CHAP.  XII.] 


ARMISTICE. 


443 


CIIiVPTER     XII. 


PR0VIS10N\L  ARMISTICE,  .lUI.Y,  1812,  RETWEKN  HAYNES  AND  DEAR- 
HORN.— RK.IKCTED  IJV  MADISON— WHO  INSISTS  ON  AHANDONMKNI 
OK  IMPRESSMENT.- AMERICAN  TERMS  Ol'  I'ACIKICATION  REJECTED 
BV  ENGLAND.- ENGLISH  TERMS  RKKUSED  UY  AMERICA. —  CORRE- 
SPONDENCE, OCTOUKR  AND  NOVEMBER,  1812,  UETWEEN  WARREN 
AND  MONROE.— WAR  INEVITABLE.  — AMERICAN  SOLDIERS  SKIZED 
AS  RRITISH  SCHJECTS  TO  HE  EXECl'TKD  AS  TRAITORS.- AMERICAN 
RETALIATION. —  CORRESPONDENCE  ON  THE  SCIUECT  BETWEEN 
DEARBORN,  I'REVO.ST,  AND  WILKINSON.— GENERAL  EXCITEMENT.— 
ENOR.MITY  Oh'  THE  ENGLISH  ATTEMPT— FINALLY  AliANDONKD.— 
RISSIAN  MEDIATION.— GALLATIN,  ADAMS,  AND  HAVARD  APPOINTED 
ENVOYS  UNDER  IT.— MOREAU.— ENVOYS  E.MBARK  KOR  ST.  PETERS- 
BURGH.— GALLATIN  WRITES  TO  BARING.  — BRITISH  MINISTRY.— 
CASTLERKA(;H.— BRITISH  DESIGNS.— SPURN  MKDLV'I'ION.— OFFER  TO 
TREAT  AT  LONDON  OR  GOTTENBURG.  — FESTIVALS  KOR  RUSSIAlf 
VICTORIES.— MR.  OTIS'S  SPEECH  TO  EUSPAPHI  EVE,  THE  RUSSIAN 
CONSUL.— FESTIVALS  FOR  AMERICAN  NAVAL  VICTORIES  OPPOSED.— 
GOVERNOR  STRO.NG-S  MESSAGE  TO  LEGISL.VTIRE  OK  MASSACHU- 
SETTS.—THEIR  RESPONSE.—  PROCFEDINGS  IN  PARLIAMENT.  — CAS- 
TLKREAGH-S  MOTION  AND  SPEECH.— ALEXANDER  BARING.— FOSTE/l 
CHARGKS  AMEKR'AN  GOVERNMENT  WiTH  KRENCH  INKJAJENCE  — 
BRITISH  INKLUENCE  IN  NEW  ENGLAND.— MR.  WEBSTER'S  RESOLU- 
TIONS IN  THE  HOUSE  OK  REPRESENTATIVES.— MR.  CALHOUN'S  RE- 
PORT ON  THEM.— MR.  MONROE'S  AN>VVER  TO  THEM.  —  TURREAU'S 
LETTER.— HANSONS  JIOTION.— K1{1:NCH  INTERVENTION  IN  THK  WAR 
CONSIDERED.— ITS  ADVANTAGES  PREVENTED  BY  BRITISH  INKLUENCE. 
JOEL  BARLOW-S  NEGOTIATIONS  WITH  KRANCIi— MERELY  COMMER- 
CIAL—I  oRBEaRING  POLITICAL  CONNECTION.— BARLOW  INVITED  TO 
WILNA  TO  SIGN  A  TREATY— DIES  IN  POLAND  — IS  SUCCEEDED  IN 
JULY,  1S1.1,  BY  CRAWKORD  AS  ISIINISTER  TO  KRANCE.— M.  SF:RU- 
RIEU,  FRENCH  MINISTER  AT  WASHlNfJTON.  —  EMBARGO  — RECOM- 
MENDED BV  PRESIDENT  IN  JULY,  THEN  REJECTED  BY  SENATE, 
ENACTED  IN  DECEMBER— INEKKECTUAL— AND  REPEALED. 


As  meiitioiied  several  times  heretofore,  the  declaration  of  war 
was  so  uiilookcd  for,  so  incredible,  that  the  English  minister, 
Foster,  a  young  man  unfit  for  his  station,  surrounded  by  mem- 
bers of  Congress  and  others,  as  little  dis^tosed  as  he  to  believe  it, 
was  taken  completely  by  surprise.  By  his  mistake  and  those 
surrounding  him,  England  was  put  olf  lier  guard.     Compared 


.?■.•!« 


Wi 


S2 


ir 


ij^lfy^ 


i4 


Si "'  ■ '"' 


'3>Ai 


mm.: 

m 


A^\' 


f., 


444 


ARMISTICE. 


[JUNK,  isr>. 


with  her  bclhgcront  means,  she  was  even  less  prepared  (or  l)osti- 
htics  hi  this  hemisphere  tiuiii  the  United  States.  During  tlie  Ih'st 
six  monilis,  botii  governments  not  only  desiderated  peace,  but 
witii  such  mutual  aversion  to  war,  that  it  was  faintly  waged  on 
both  sides,  except  th  it  our  navy,  without  orders  or  exi)ectatioii, 
struck  some  solitary  hard  blows.  Our  armies  struck  nowhere 
but  to  be  defeated  'J ways.  The  president,  an  instrument  of 
what  he  believed  .0  be  the  will  and  the  interest  of  the  nation, 
M'as,  nevertheless,  anxious  for  peace.  Tiie  Secretary  of  State, 
INIonioe,  was  heard  to  say,  we  have  got  into  the  war  and  must 
get  out  of  it  as  soon  as  wo  can.  The  Secretary  of  War,  Arm- 
strong, added,  what  can  be  expected  from  a  licentious  people 
impatient  of  burthens?  The  Secretary  of  the  Trcasiny,  Mr. 
Gallatin,  was  unreserved  in  his  condemnation  of  war,  after  it  was 
declared  as  before.  While  such  was  the  pacific  solicitude  of  our 
government,  that  of  England  was  just  then  putting  forth  all  the 
mighty  means  of  Great  liritaiu  in  the  final  struggle  with  France  ; 
in  which  most  of  her  soldiers  and  sailors  were  en. ployed,  with 
an  outlay  of  nearly  five  hundred  millions  of  dollars  for  that  one 
year;  etl'orts  from  which  that  great,  but  factitious  kingdom  of 
many  countries  never  has  recovered,  and  never  can.  There  was, 
therefore,  strong  indisposition  for  war  with  America,  and  for  more 
expense.  Napoleon  and  Alexander  bid  high,  after  involving 
Sweden,  for  the  co-operation  of  Denmark,  tiie  only  I"]uropean 
power  not  engaged  in  the  great  contest ;  while  both  desired, 
England  to  prevent.  Franco  to  induce,  the  United  States  to  take 
part  ill  it.  The  British  government  did  no  more,  on  intelligence 
of  the  declaration  of  war  by  the  United  States,  tlian  to  order  an 
embargo  the  31slJuly,  lS12,for  the  detention  of  American  ships, 
directing  that  they  should  be  taken  and  detained  till  further 
orders.  The  commander  of  the  British  forces  in  America,  con- 
scious, says  an  English  historian  (Christie),  of  the  inferiority  of 
his  strength,  and  uncertain  of  reintbrcement  from  home,  adopted 
a  defensive  system,  pursuant  to  directions  from  his  government, 
which,  in  hopes  of  a  speedy  termination  of  the  ditrerenecs  with 
America,  studied,  by  temporizing,  to  avoid  widening  the  breach, 
or  exciting  the  American  people  to  embark  in  what  England 
was  led  to  consider  a  quarrel  undertak(Mi  by  tlibir  government. 

The  Governor-General  of  Canada  was  uneasy  for   his  pro- 
vinces, which,  witli  the  good  will  of  New  England,  or  an  encr- 


TNK,  1S1"2. 

for  liosti- 
;  llio  lirst 
3acc,  but 
v^aged  oil 
)ectatioii, 
nowhcro 
uiucnt  of 
le  nation, 
of  Slate, 
and  tniist 
'ar,  Arm- 
US  people 
sury,  Mr. 
fter  it  was 
udc  of  our 
rtli  all  the 
h  France  ; 
5ycd,  Willi 
)r  that  one 
[ngdoni  of 
riiere  was, 
for  more 
involving; 
''uroiH>au 
1  desired, 
es  to  take 
ntelligence 
0  order  an 
■ican  ships, 
[ill  lurther 
ierica,con- 
feriority  of 
ic,  adopted 
vernuient, 
eiiees  with 
Jie  breach, 
it  England 
erinnent. 
r   his  pro- 
•r  an  encr- 


CHAP.  Xlt.] 


DEARBORN'S     ARMISTICE. 


445 


gctic  and  fortunate  American  general,  even  without  sucli  support, 
would  iiave  been  overrun  that  sutnmor.  IJv  Foster's  advice 
from  Halifax,  Prevost  dispatched  his  Adjutant-General,  Edward 
Baynes,  with  a  Hag  of  truce  to  Flatbiish,  near  Albany,  in  New 
York,  where  General  Dearborn  was  stationed,  to  negotiate  with 
Jiini  an  armistice,  wliich  Dearborn  was  prevailed  upon  at  once 
to  subscribe.  It  suspended  military  operations  till  the  president's 
pleasure  should  be  ascertai'ied ;  excepting  General  Hull's  expe- 
dition ;  Dearborn  considered  that  a  separate  command  which  he 
had  no  authority  to  interfere  with,  liy  this  ill-advised  conces- 
sion, which  occurred  in  July,  18ia,  Dearborn  relieved  the  enemy 
from  all  immediate  fear  for  Canada,  as  far  as  from  Montreal  to 
Maiden,  comprehending  all  the  shores  of  Lakes  Champlain  and 
Ontario,  with  the  whole  St,  Lawrence  frontier,  and  enabled 
General  Brock  to  perform  his  rapid  march  from  York  to  Sand- 
wicli,  thence  to  force  Hull  to  surrender  at  Detroit,  the  next  month, 
August,  I8l;j.  England  tlien  had  no  idea  that  her  navy  could 
sutler.  But  she  feared  that  her  commerce  would  snfi'er  from 
American  privateers,  her  manufactures  not  only  by  losing  the 
great  market  of  this  country,  but  by  war  forcing  the  United 
States  to  supply  themselves  '/ith  manufactures,  and  she  feared 
the  dishonour  of  losing  Canada.  Till  war  was  declared,  the 
threat  of  it  was  treated  with  English  contempt,  especially  by 
the  press.  Peter  B.  Porter's  report,  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives, in  favour  of  war,  was  ridiculed  as  blustering,  noisy, 
silly,  unstatc^smanlike.  Every  American  ship  would  bo  swept 
from  the  ocean,  every  harbour  blockaded,  American  commerce 
ruined  altogether.  But  as  soon  as  war  was  proclaimed,  it  was 
discovered  in  London,  that  witl\  1()(),0()0  seamen,  as  good  as 
any  in  the  world,  all  of  whom  could  be  actively  employed  in 
public  or  private  ships  of  war  against  British  trade  in  every  part 
of  the  ocean,  to  the  very  chops  of  the  Channel,  increasing  rates  of 
insurance,  constraining  merchant  vessels  to  sail  under  convoy, 
America  would  be  a  troublesome  and  expensive  enemy:  a  dif- 
ferent sort  of  enemy  at  sea  from  the  French,  said  a  London 
newspaper,  with  nautical  knowledge  and  enterprize,  attempting 
deeds  which  Frenchmen  would  never  think  of,  with  French  and 
other  continental  ports  to  take  refuge  in,  iheir  depredations 
much  to  be  dreaded.  In  like  manner  desertion  of  British  sea- 
men was  deprecated,  to  a  service  more  popular  and  more  pro- 
VOL.  I.— 38 


0 


ii,T'.« 


5''k  •  ■ ' 


446 


ENGLAND     FOR     i'KACE, 


[JULY,  1812. 


Mi'"."^''"' 

■^'l  .'■■■    > 


fitable,  if  not  more  glorious,  than  their  own.  Dishonour  in  defeat 
by  sea  was  not  imagined,  but  expensive  commercial  losses.  More- 
over British  manufactures  would  suffer.  War  would  be  a  hot  bed 
for  those  of  the  United  States  to  be  forced  forward  with  tlie  natu- 
ral moans  of  North  America.  It  would  be  a  trial  of  skill  as  well 
as  trial  by  battle,  of  handicraft  against  fire  arms.  Great  Britain 
compelled  the  United  States  to  double  their  impost,  which  would, 
at  the  same  time  that  it  increased  revenue,  foster  American 
fabrics.  On  the  other  hand,  the  supply  of  American  raw  materials 
for  English  manufactures  for  the  army  and  navy  would  be  stop- 
ped, and  would  be  driven  to  France.  The  jeopardy  of  Canada, 
too,  was  felt  and  confessed.  Undoubtedly,  said  the  Times  news- 
paper, we  deprecate  war  with  America,  though  we  cannot  dread 
it.  She  thinks  that  we  have  already  enough  on  our  hands  in  con- 
tending with  France,  and  we  desire  no  more  certainly.  We  are 
now  the  only  bulwark  of  the  world,  a  little  speck  between  the 
Old  and  the  New  World,  contending  with  both;  with  one  arm 
beating  the  armies  of  the  continental  master  of  Europe,  with  the 
other  we  must  smite  his  American  pripfect.  Bonaparte  desires 
us  to  abandon  our  maritime  rights :  America,  lending  herself  to 
him,  that  we  should  let  her  have  our  trade. 

These  were  pleas,  if  not  cries,  of  desperation  rather  than  defi- 
ance. Great  Britain  claimed  the  sea  as  her  domain.  The  orders 
in  council  were  said  in  Parliament  to  be  a  system  of  self-defence 
to  prevent  the  commerce  of  America  from  coming  into  competi- 
tion with  that  of  England :  retaliatory,  not  upon  France,  but 
upon  the  United  States  for  entering  into  commercial  competition 
with  the  sovereign  of  the  seas.  Although  the  Berlin  and  Milan 
decrees  were  revoked,  yet  the  English  Commons  on  the  13th  of 
February,  1812,  by  a  vote  of  13G  to  23,  rejected  Whitbread's 
motion  to  repeal  the  orders  in  council,  which  the  prime  minister, 
Percival,  resisted  because  Great  Britain  liad  a  right  to  do  what- 
ever was  necessary  to  counteract  the  alleged  injustice  of  France. 
From  the  present  maritime  strength  of  the  United  States  we  can 
hardly  realize  that  epoch  of  belligerent  despotism,  when  England 
and  France  arbitrarily  undertook  and  well-nigh  succeeded  to 
compel  all  nations  to  submit  to  a  sea  yoke  which  now  would  be 
repelled  by  all— against  which  every  man  in  this  country  would 
rise  in  arms.  Their  injustice  had  been  so  long  borne  by  the 
United  States  that  both  of  them  believed  it  would  never  be 


CHAP.  XII.l 


RRITISH     OFKKR     PKACE. 


447 


resisted  boyond  complaint  and  remonstrance.  When  at  length, 
surprised  by  war,  Kngland  still  thought  connnerrial  gain  the  otily 
cause  of  it,  and  considered  all  ditliculty  removed  by  repealing  her 
orders  in  council.  Hut  Madison  deemed  impressment  of  seamen 
another  substantial  and  a  sulficieut  grievance,  which  he  had  long 
combated  by  irresislible  reason.  He  therefore  at  once  refused 
tfie  armistice  Dearborn  subscribed  with  Haynes,  for  suspending 
resort  to  arms,  and  fortunately  persevered  in  hostilities,  which,  if 
then  interrupted,  would  have  prevented  all  the  American  naval 
victories.  Dearborn's  inconsiderate  acceptance  of  Prevost's  i  ver- 
ture  might  thus  have  rendered  peace  a  mere  suspension  of 
hostilities,  without  the  bulwark  of  marine  power,  of  which  this 
country  has  since  experienced  the  incalculable  benefus  abroad 
and  at  home.  It  is  a  striking  elfect  of  that  wai,thav  the  two 
great  European  powers  which  then,  with  uiu  esitatir.^  violati'  vi 
of  national  law  and  American  rights,  trampled  upon  our  pea-  . 
able  maritime  adventures, sacrificed  to  unmitigated  hostilities  ba- 
tween  England  and  France, have  lately  combined  b  clandestine 
contrivances,  without  resorting  to  arms,  to  prevent  t  lo  s  'ttlement 
of  the  boundaries  of  the  United  States  as  acknowledged  in  1812. 
Substituting  diplomacy  for  force  is  the  effect  of  European  con- 
viction from  that  war  of  American  ability  for  self-protection. 

A  friend,  then  a  member  of  the  executive  government  at 
Washington,  allows  me  to  use  from  his  diary  the  f  ,llowing  en- 
tries concerning  the  proposed  armistice  : — 

"1812.  JIugust  \5th.  The  Secretary  of  War  informs  me 
that  the  Adjutant-General  of  the  British  army  in  Canada,  had 
arrived  at  Albany  with  a  flag  of  truce  to  General  Dearborn; 
that  he  brought  with  him  a  letter  from  Sir  George  Prevost,  Go- 
vernor-General and  Commander-in-Cii,'  r  \\\  Canada,  proposing 
a  suspension  of  hostilities  ;  the  ground  cj  the  proposal  was,  that 
Mr.  Baker,  the  British  Secretary  of  Legation,  still  remaining  at 
Wasliington,  was  to  lay  before  the  American  government  certain 
dispatches  forwarded  to  him  since  the  repeal  of  the  orders  in 
council,  which  might  prepare  tlie  way  for  negotiations  for  peace. 
General  Dearborn,  on  the  faith  of  this  letter  from  Sir  George  Pre- 
vost, had  consented  to  an  armistice  until  he  could  send  word  to 
his  government  at  Washington,  and  receive  an  answer.  The 
secretary  added  that,  the  government  having  received  no  com- 
munication from  the  British  government  through  Mr.  Baker  or 


lW:wi^.. 


mm:--... 


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448 


ARMISTICE. 


[AUG.,  1612. 


any  other  .source,  to  authorize  such  an  expectation  p."  was  con- 
veyed in  Sir  George  Prevost's  letter,  General  Dearboin  would 
be  instructed  to  proceed  in  his  military  operations  with  increased 
vigour.  He  (the  secretary)  had  written  him  a  private  letter  to- 
day to  this  ell'ect,  and  it  would  be  followed  by  an  otiicial  one  to- 
morrow. 

"August  22d.  To-day  Mr.  Monroe  r^ad  to  me  a  dispatch 
drawn  up  by  him,  and  immediately  to  be  sent  to  Mr.  Russell, 
our  charge  d'affaires  at  London,  on  the  subject  of  the  proposal 
for  an  armistice  lately  made  by  the  Governor-General  of  Canada, 
Sir  George  Prevost,  through  the  Adjutant-General  of  the  British 
army  who  arrived  at  Albany.  The  dispatch  states  at  large  the 
reasons  why  it  would  be  manifestly  improper  in  the  American 
government  to  accede  to  the  proposal  under  the  existing  circum- 
stances of  the  two  nations  at  the  present  moment.  It  states, 
moreover,  that  the  proposal  is  not  made  by  the  British  govern- 
ment itself,  but  only  through  its  colonial  agents,  and  might  not 
be  sanctioned  in  England  ;  and  that  it  would  be  wholly  unequal 
in  the  advantages  it  world  give  to  the  parties,  if  agreed  to  by 
the  United  States — as  it  would  give  Britain  time  for  preparation 
in  quarters  where  she  is  weak ;  also,  that  as  we  had  declared 
war  for  impressment  as  a  main  cause,  to  agree  to  this  armistice 
before  hearing  a  word  from  England  on  the  subject,  might  look 
like  giving  it  up.  These  are  only  som.e  of  the  reasons  which 
the  dispatch  contained.  It  also  remarked,  that  the  repeal  of 
the  orders  in  council,  as  transmitted  lately,  reserved  a  principle 
altogether  disallowed  by  the  United  States,  viz:  a  right  by  the 
Prince  Regent  to  revive  them  or  not  as  the  conduct  of  France 
might  make  it  necessary.  The  dispatch  concludes  with  saying 
to  Mr.  Russell,  that  the  President  would  be  ready  to  agree  to  a 
suspension  of  arms  on  the  complete  repeal  of  the  orders  in  coun- 
cil, and  on  satisfactory  assurances  being  given  that  the  question 
of  impressment  would  be  taken  up  with  a  view  to  its  final  ad- 
justment." 

In  all  probability  the  armistice  suggested  by  Foster  from  Hali- 
fax to  Prevost,  and  by  him  procured  imm  Dearborn,  was  a 
scheme  of  the  British  minister,  Foster,  to  atone  for  his  own 
foolish  assurance  that  war  would  not  be  declared,  and  Prevost's 
want  of  means  in  Canada  to  resist  it,  if  vigorously  waged. 

In  September,  1812,  Admiral  Sir  John  Borlarc  Warren,  a  vete- 


CHAP.  XII.] 


ARMISTICE    PROPOSED. 


449 


ran  officer  of  the  British  navy,  arrived  at  Halifax,  not  only  with 
an  extensive  naval  command,  including  the  Jamaica  and  Wind- 
ward Island  stations.,  but  also  with  full  power  to  negotiate  a  pro- 
visional accommodation  with  our  government.  On  the  30th  of 
September,  181 2,  he  wrote  from  Halifax  to  Mr.  Monroe,  the  Secre- 
tary of  State,  that  the  departure  of  Mr.  Foster  had  devolved  on  the 
admiral  the  charge  of  making  known  to  the  government  of  the 
United  State'',  the  Prince  Regent's  sentiments  upon  the  existing 
relations  of  the  two  countries.  The  orders  in  council  ceased,  he 
stated,  nearly  at  the  time  the  government  of  the  United  States 
declared  war :  on  receipt  of  which,  the  order  of  the  31st  of  July, 
1812,  was  given  to  detain  American  vessels.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, the  admiral  proposed  an  immediate  cessation  of 
hostilities,  in  order  to  bring  about  a  reconciliation  so  interesting 
and  beneficial  to  America  and  Great  Britain.  If  the  American 
government  instantly  recalls  their  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal 
against  British  ships,  together  with  all  orders  for  acts  of  hostility 
against  territories,  persons  and  property,  with  the  understanding 
that  immediately  on  receiving  assurances  from  you  to  that  effiect, 
I  shall  instruct  all  English  officers  to  desist  from  corresponding 
measures  of  war ;  British  commanders  will  be  required  to  discon- 
tinue hostilities  from  the  receipt  of  such  notice.  Should  the 
American  government  accede  to  this  proposal  for  terminating 
hostilities,  Admiral  Warren  was  authorized  to  arrange  a  revoca- 
tion of  laws  interdicting  commerce.  In  default  of  such  revoca- 
tion, he  added,  by  the  order  of  the  23d  of  June,  the  orders  in 
council  of  January,  1807,  and  April,  1809,  (the  obnoxious  orders,) 
are  to  be  revived.  I  earnestly  recommend,  said  Admiral  Warren, 
that  no  time  may  be  lost  iti  communicating  to  me  the  decision  of 
your  government,  persuaded  as  I  feel  that  it  cannot  but  be  of  a 
nature  to  lead  to  a  termination  of  the  present  differences.  The 
Hag  of  truce  you  may  charge  with  your  reply  will  find  one  of 
my  cruisers  at  Sandy  Hook,  ten  days  after  the  landing  of  this 
dispatch  with  a  flag  of  truce  which  I  have  directed  to  be  there 
for  the  purpose. 

This  authentic  proffer  of  peace  put  it  in  Madison's  power 
under  persuasive  circumstances.  No  very  serious  steps  had  yet 
been  taken  towards  hostilities.  The  presidential  election  was  in 
its  very  crisis,  and  Hull's  surrender  had  taken  place,  when  the 
president  was  called  upon  in  the  autumnal  solitude  of  the  seat  of 

38* 


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'V.  '■■•' 


mhr. 


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m:!''. 


450 


ARMISTICE    REJECTED. 


[OCT.,  1812. 


government  in  October,  1812,  just  before  Congress  would  re- 
assemble there,  to  determine  the  great  question  of  peace  or 
war  submitted  to  his  single  judgment.  Although  strongly  in- 
clined to  peace,  taking  ground  on  impressment  against  the  vast 
power  of  Great  Britain,  insisting  upon  it  as  her  ancient,  unques- 
tionable, domestic,  and  vital  rule  of  allegiance,  Madison,  who 
had  so  long  and  irresistibly  argued  the  issue,  made  what  was 
equivalent  to  another  declaration  of  war — to  resist  impressment 
alone. 

«The  English  government,  on  the  intelligence  of  a  declaration 
of  war  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  the  issue  of 
letters  of  marque  and  reprisals,  had  done  no  more  by  way  of 
retaliation  than  to  direct  that  American  ships  and  goods  should 
be  brought  in  and  detained  till  further  orders.  But  the  disregard 
of  the  American  government  to  the  notified  repeal  of  the  orders 
in  council  and  its  refusal  to  continue  the  armistice  agreed  upon 
by  the  commanders  on  each  side  in  Canada,  being  now  made 
known,  the  Prince  Regent  published  an  order,  dated  October 
1.3th,  for  granting  general  reprisals  against  the  ships,  goods,  and 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  in  the  usual  form  towards  a  hostile 
power;  concluding,  however,  with  a  declaration,  that  nothing 
in  this  order  was  to  annul  the  authority  before  given  to  his 
majesty's  naval  commander  on  the  American  station,  to  sign  a 
convention  for  recalling  all  hostile  orders  issued  by  the  respective 
governments,  with  a  view  of  restoring  the  accustomed  relations 
of  amity  and  commerce." 

Such  was  an  English  account  of  that  conjuncture,  published 
soon  afterwards.  For  passive  and  considerate  adhesion  to  the 
great  cause  of  the  war,  the  president  was  all  that  its  advocates 
could  desire.  Great  Britain  had  no  more  formidable  individual 
enemy  than  he  who  deprecated  war.  If  the  activity  and  energy 
of  his  administration  had  equaled  his  own  imperturbable  forti- 
tude and  patriotism,  the  misfortunes  and  mismanagement  of  the 
outset  would  not  have  occurred. 

Monroe's  answer  to  Warren,  dated  Department  of  State,  the 
27th  of  October,  1812,  informed  him  that  it  would  be  very  satis- 
factory to  the  president  to  meet  the  British  government  in  such 
arrangements  as  might  terminate  without  delay  hostilities  on 
conditions  honourable  to  both  nations.  At  the  moment  of  the 
declaration  of  war,  the  president  gave  signal  proof  of  the  attach- 


m. 


'^^ 


CHAP.  XII.] 


AMERICAN    TERMS    OP    PEACE. 


461 


ment  of  the  United  States  to  peace,  by  proposing  an  armistice 
rejected  in  regard  to  the  important  interest  of  impressment,  with- 
out which  no  peace  can  be  durable.  I'he  president  desires  to 
terminate  the  war  on  sohd  and  durable  terms:  to  accomplish 
which  it  is  necessary  that  the  subject  of  impressment  be  satisfac- 
torily arranged,  and  suspension  of  the  practice  during  the  armi- 
stice is  necessary.  The  United  States  cannot  admit  or  acquiesce 
ill  the  right  during  negotiation ;  for  this  purpose  a  clear  and 
distinct  understanding  of  the  parties  must  first  be  obtained.  The 
orders  in  council  having  been  repealed,  no  illegal  blockades 
revived  or  instituted  in  their  stead,  and  an  understanding  being 
obtained  on  the  subject  of  impressment,  the  president  is  willing 
to  agree  to  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  with  a  view  to  arrange  by 
treaty,  in  a  more  distinct  and  ample  manner  and  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  both  parties,  every  other  subject  of  controversy. 

The  English  government  refusing  these  terms  of  accommoda- 
tion, war  continued  for  the  single  grievance  of  impressment, 
with  the  English  menace  that  such  blockades  as  the  repealed 
orders  in  council  authorized,  that  is,  illegal  blockades,  which 
Lord  Melville  in  Parliament  pronounced  impracticable,  would 
also  be  entorced. 

The  conditions  proffered  by  our  government,  through  Russel, 
tbair  charge  d'affaires  in  London,  when  war  was  declared,  were 
stated  by  the  president  in  his  annual  message  to  Congress  the 
4th  of  November,  1812,  without  reference  to  the  rejected  over- 
tures from  Prevost  and  Warren.  They  were,  repeal  of  the 
orders  in  council,  no  revival  of  blockades  violating  established 
rules,  a  stop  put  to  the  practice  of  impressment,  and  immediate 
discharge  of  American  seamen  from  British  ships.  In  return, 
we  proffered  an  act  of  Congress,  not  a  mere  executive  assurance, 
for  the  exclusion  of  British  seamen,  nay  more,  all  British  natives 
from  our  vessels,  provided  Great  Britain  excluded  Americans 
from  hers.  On  these  terms  an  armistice,  to  prevent  hostilities 
and  bloodshed,  could  be  improved  into  definitive  and  compre- 
hensive adjustment  of  all  depending  controversies.  These  were 
reasonable  and  moderate  terms ;  but  which,  while  England  was 
at  war  with  France,  there  was  little  hope  she  would  accept,  im- 
pressment, if  there  be  any  right  to  it,  being  a  war  right,  at  all 
events  a  war  need.  The  act  of  Congress  concerning  seamen 
afterwards  enacted,  as  promised,  made  great  concessions.  It  dis- 
tinguishes between  native  and  naturalized  seamen,  contrary  to 


"••1. 


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^m(^. 


452 


WAR    FOR    IMPRESSMENT. 


[FEB.,  1813. 


the  act  of  Parliament,  the  practice  of  all  nations  and  the  habits  of 
seafaring  men  to  take  service  in  vessels  other  than  those  of  n  -tive, 
or  indeed  of  any  permanent  allegiance.  It  makes  a  disti  ..lion 
incongruous  v/ith  the  fundamental  principle  of  American  in;:titu- 
tions,  by  which  o  ir  political  community  is  to  coi.sist  of  foreigners 
invited  from  a! I  the  world  to  participation  of  American  citizen- 
ship and  prof<  :ti  's  These  terms  were  rejected  as  soon  as 
proffered  to  G   ;at  liritain. 

On  the  2d  of  February,  1813,  Castlereagh  laid  before  Parlia- 
ment the  Prince  Regent's  manifesto  or  proclamation  of  the  9th 
January,  of  that  year,  in  which  the  British  pretensions  were  set 
forth  with  unusual  fullness,  arrogance  and  falsification.  Not  only 
were  our  terms  scornfully  repudiated,  but  the  motives  of  our 
government,  the  independence  and  honour  of  the  country,  were 
impugned  by  insolent  and  elaborate  argument  of  the  prominent 
English  charge  of  American  subserviency  to  France.  English 
employment  of  the  Indians  was  expressly  denied  in  this  false 
state  paper,  and  American  connivance  with  the  French  ruler 
expressly  asserted ;  two  equally  gross  falsehoods,  the  ground- 
work of  the  manifesto. 

It  was,  by  this  time  and  by  these  proceedings,  manifest  that 
war  or  abject  submission  were  the  only  alternatives  of  the 
United  States.  The  principles  of  the  orders  in  council  were 
by  no  means  disavowed ;  their  prfiCtice  v/as  only  suspended, 
with  distinct  threat  of  their  renewal ;  while  impressment  in 
principle  and  practice  was  insisted  upon.  Madison's  adminis- 
tration had  no  option  left  but  perseverance  in  hostilities  of  which 
the  English  overtures  for  accommodation  would  save  only  the 
blooQshed,  leaving  most  of  the  maritime  injustice  as  great  as 
ever.  Perhaps  Mr.  Madison  himself,  certainly  others  of  his 
cabinet,  flattered  themselves  with  a  prospect  of  peace,  soon 
after  disclosed  by  the  Russian  mediation.  But  Great  Britain 
rejected  that  too,  and  soon  began  the  outrageous  aggravation  of 
wrong  which  is  next  to  be  exhibited.  However,  and  not  perhaps 
undulv;  solicitous  of  peace,  by  insisting  on  freedom  from  the 
odious  and  intolerable  grievance  r.f  impressment,  the  American 
government  renewed  the  war  issue  on  terms  by  which  the 
United  States  might  fairly  stand  before  ♦he  world  and  posterity. 
On  the  29th  January,  1813,  Felix  Grundy,  from  the  committee 
of  Foreign  Affairs,  reported  to  the  House  of  Representatives  the 
bill  which  became  the  promised  law  the  3d  March,  1813,  for  the 


&■■•"'' 


CHAP.  XII.] 


WAR    FOR    IMPRESSMENT. 


453 


regulation  of  seamen  on  board  the  public  and  private  vessels  of 
the  United  States.  The  committee  by  a  report  at  the  same  time 
expressed  their  astonishment  at  the  rejection,  by  Engkmd,  of  the 
terms  of  accommodation  offered  by  our  minister  to  Lord  Cris- 
tlereagh.  Our  proposition  at  first  made  to  exclude  British  sea- 
men v^as  enlarged  so  as  to  exclude  all  British  native  subjects  not 
already  naturalized,  which  too  was  rejected.  No  dis|iosition  for 
fair  conditions  of  accommodation  was  to  be  ibund  in  the  English 
minister's  communication  to  ours  at  London,  or  in  Admiral  \Var- 
ren's  from  Halifax.  They  profess  willingness  for  amicable  dis- 
r  .osion,  but  will  do  nothing  towards  redress  of  the  principal 
grievance.  On  a  full  view  of  the  conduct  of  the  American  exe- 
cutive since  the  declaration  of  war,  the  committee  expressed  their 
entire  approbation  of  it.  It  remained  for  the  United  States  to  take 
their  final  attitude  and  maintain  it  with  unshaken  firmness  and 
constancy.  The  manner  in  which  our  friendly  advances  and 
liberal  propositions  had  been  received,  in  great  measure  extin- 
guished the  hope  of  amicable  accommodation.  The  committee 
thought  it  unnecessary  to  inquire  what  our  course  would  have  been 
respecting  impressment,  had  the  orders  in  council  been  repealed 
before  the  declaration  of  war.  War  having  been  declared,  and 
impressment,  one  principal  cause  of  it,  remaining  in  full  force,  it 
must  be  provided  for  in  pacification.  The  British  pretension 
was  maturing  into  a  right.  The  period  had  arrived  when  for- 
bearance could  be  no  longer  justified.  The  people  of  America 
were  one  family  to  defend  their  liberties ;  and  had  no  fear  of  the 
result. 

The  stand  taken  by  the  executive  in  October,  1812,  and  corro- 
borated by  Coiigress  in  January,  1S13,  were  like  repetition  of 
the  declaration  of  war  in  June,  1812.  It  was  the  national  posi- 
tion, from  which  the  United  States  were  not  to  be  driven  but  by 
force,  which  Madison  performed  a  duty  to  the  country  highly 
deserving  its  gratitude  when  he  maintained  alone,  and  which 
Congress  confirmed. 

Pacification  refused  on  the  terms  proposed  by  the  enemy,  left 
war  on  the  single  issue  of  impressment,  and  produced  fresh  and 
monstrous  aggravation  of  hostilities.  All  the  enormities  of  British 
warfare,  excitement  of  slaves  and  employment  of  savages,  were 
to  be  exceeded  by  another  still  more  abominable  device.  The 
United  States  were  to  be  punished.  Tlie  dogma  of  British  in- 
disputable allegiance  was  to  be  enforced  on  hundreds  of  thou- 


.  5V 


454 


NATURALIZATION    DENIED. 


risi3. 


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sands  of  American  citizens  and  soldiers.  The  olive  branch 
having  been  rejected,  tho  sword  was  not  the  only  alternative,  but 
the  giribet  was  to  bo  erected  wherever  a  naturalized  Ainoiican 
citizen  was  taken  in  arms,  if  born  a  Briton.  Inijn  vss^uient  by- 
sea  was  to  be  ini;iosed  by  extermination  ashnre.  i  he  armies 
and  navy  of  the  Uiiited  States  were  to  be  deterred  Piid  more 
than  decimated  by  executing  their  soldiers  and  sailors  as  tniitors : 
by  English  officers,  among  whos,;  suldieis  and  s;  I'ors  were  Ger- 
man, Spanish,  B'rench,  ualian,  ;xii<'  Indian  levies. 

Of  the  American  prisoners  takesi  at  Queenstovvit,  t,wenty-three 
privates  of  the  first,  sixth,  and  thirteenth  regiments  of  regpJur 
infantry  %vere  seized  will. out  any  notice  to  American  officers  ov 
asithorities,  and,  as  British  subjects,  seU'  to  England,  to  .x  tried 
a*  tr.tiiors  taken  in  anus  lighting  against  their  soviisign.  The 
firsi  -xiui  s'Yth  were  old  regiments  commanded,  respectively,  by 
Coloiu'iy  Kingsbury  and  Simonds.  The  tltirteenth  was  a  new 
regimen';,  -a ised  ibr  the  war,  commanded  by  Colonel  Schuyler. 
When  he  Ameiioan  commissary  of  prisoners  in  England  became 
aware  ot  this  proceeding,  he  apprized  his  govcrmnent  of  it.  The 
president  immediately  in  May.  1813,  directed  General  Dearborn 
to  confine  twenty-three  British  prisoners  as  hostages  for  our 
twenty-three  soldiers  confined  as  traitors  in  England  :  and  at  the 
same  time  to  give  notice  of  the  determination  to  retaliate  any 
similar  severity  begun  by  England.  Dearborn  was  a  man  of 
strong  American  sympathies  and  recollections.  He  had  been 
commanding  officer  of  the  day  when  Washington,  in  an  analogy 
of  martial  rigour,  inflicted  upon  Major  Andre  the  inexorable  law 
of  war.  Dearborn,  therefore,  promptly  and  cordially  vindicated 
American  right  by  the  confinement  of  the  English  prisoners,  and 
gave  notice  of  it  to  Prevost,  the  Governor-General  of  Canada. 
Thus  the  matter  stood  during  several  months  without  further 
action  in  this  dreadful  resort.  Whenever  England  made  a  step 
in  it,  our  officers  kept  pace:  but  nothing  like  a  settled  plan  was 
divulged  till  the  autumn  of  1813.  The  storm  muttered,  but  no 
more.  On  the  same  day  that  Admiral  Warren  tendered  peace 
to  Mr.  Monroe,  30th  of  September,  1812,  from  Halifax,  he 
addressed  another  letter  to  him,  complaining  that  Commodore 
Rodgers  iiad  seized  twelve  British  seamen  from  a  cartel,  for 
twelve  of  ours  taken  from  the  Chesapeake,  and  he  issued  a  pro- 
clamation to  the  English  to  uphold  them  in  their  loyal  attach- 


CHAP.  XII.] 


PEUPKTUAL    ALLEGIANCE. 


455 


ments.  Great  Britain  only  deferred  the  enforcement  of  impress- 
ment at  sea  by  execntion  of  naturalized  Americans  taken  in 
arms  ashore,  while  she  had  hopes  that  war  would  cease  with 
orders  in  council.  Warren  had,  tio  doubt,  his  alternative  orders: 
and  as  soon  as  war  was  the  settled  course  of  both  countries, 
Great  Britain,  in  addition  to  her  employment  of  the  Indians  and 
revolt  of  the  slaves,  undertook  to  put  to  death  a  large  portion 
of  the  American  army  and  navy  in  cold  blood — to  execute  them 
after  trials  in  England,  which  could  be  but  mockeries  of  justice. 
Accordingly,  the  Governor-General  of  Canada  gave  from  his 
head-quarters  at  Montreal,  on  the  17th  of  October,  1813,  formal 
official  notice  to  General  Wilkinson,  that  the  British  commander 
was  instructed  to  select  out  of  the  American  officers  to  be  put 
in  close  confinement,  as  many  as  double  the  number  of  British 
soldiers  put  to  death,  should  any  be  so  dealt  with,  in  conse- 
quence of  death  being  inflicted  on  guilty  British  soldiers  confined 
in  England,  and  such  selected  American  officers  would  suffer 
death  immediately.  And,  furthermore,  Prevost  was  instructed 
by  his  Britannic  majesty's  government  to  notify  Wilkinson  for 
th*^.  information  of  the  government  of  the  United  States,  that  the 
^ommander  of  his  majesty's  armies  and  fleets  on  the  coasts  of 
America  had  received  instructions  to  prosecute  the  war  with 
unmitigated  severity,  against  all  cities,  towns,  and  villages,  be- 
longing to  the  United  States,  and  the  inhabitants  thereof,  unless 
deterred  from  putting  to  death  any  persons  then  or  thereafter  held 
as  hostages  for  the  purposes  stated  by  Major-General  Dearborn, 
This  was  the  first  notice  of  that /)t<nisAwp/j/  which  Castlereagh 
had  resolved  should  be  part  of  the  American  atonement  for  de- 
claring war.  On  the  1st  of  November,  1813,  from  his  head-quarters 
at  Grenadier  Island,  General  Wilkinson,  with  brevity  and  dignity 
answered  this  brutal  threat  by  a  letter  to  Prevost,  simply  stating 
that  a  copy  of  his  letter  should  be  immediately  transmitted  to  his 
government,  but  that  it  could  n  )i  be  deterred  by  any  considera- 
tion of  life  or  death,  of  dopredation,  or  conflagration,  from  the 
faithful  discharge  of  its  duty  to  the  American  nation.  On  the 
27lh  of  October,  1813,  Adjutant-General  Baynes  published,  toge- 
ther with  the  official  account  of  General  Hampton's  repulse  in 
his  attempt  to  enter  Canada  in  September,  the  substance  of  the 
correspondence  between  Dearborn,  Prevost,  and  Wilkinson, 
respecting  retaliation,  in  general  orders  to  the  British  troops. 


m 


illW 


456 


PERPETUAL    ALLEGIANCE. 


[1813. 


ml-  ■ 


ill  '  ■ 


I 


>>'  ■  ■  • 


They  would  be  sensible  of  the  Prince  Regent's  paternal  solicitude 
for  the  honour  and  protection  of  the  British  soldiers,  grossly  out- 
raged in  the  persons  of  twenty-three  of  them  confined  for  that 
number  of  traitors  guilty  of  the  unnatural  and  infamous  crime  of 
raising  parricidal  arms  against  the  country  that  gave  them  birth; 
an  aggravation  of  the  cruel  barbarities  daily  and  maliciously  prac- 
tised on  British  soldiers  fallen  into  the  hands  of  their  American 
enemies. 

When  England  took  her  position  on  the  dogma  of  perpetual 
allegiance,  Generals  Winchester,  Chandler,  and  Winder,  Colonel 
Lewis  and  Major  Madison  were  prisoners  on  parole  near  Que- 
bec :  but  not  one  of  the  superior  officers  was  seized  as  a  hostage. 
A  dogma  originally  applied  only  to  vassals,  never  enforced  against 
lords,  in  the  feudal  ages,  from  whose  dark  cedes  it  sprang,  Eng- 
land on  this  ferocious  revival  of  it,  restricted  to  men  in  humble 
stations.  No  American  above  the  grade  of  captain  was  confined 
as  a  hostage  under  it.  At  the  same  time  the  English  government, 
in  concert  with  those  of  Russia  and  Germany,  employed  General 
Moreau,  taken  from  America,  in  the  midst  of  naturalized  French- 
men, Britons,  Germans,  and  men  of  all  other  countries  by  birth, 
to  serve  in  conjunction  with  Bernadotte,  another  elevated  ex- 
ception to  the  rule,  at  the  head  of  armies,  subsidized  by  England 
to  compel  the  naturalized  emperor  of  the  French  to  abdicate 
his  throne.  Moreau  and  Bernadotte,  at  the  outset  of  their 
ascent  to  greatness,  when  in  the  ranks,  or  inferior  grades,  might 
have  been  executed  as  traitors,  according  to  the  English  rule, 
for  bearing  arms  against  their  native  country.  ]Uit  as  comman- 
ders and  princes,  the  rule  ceased  to  apply  to  them.  The  Earl  of 
Cathcart,  English  ambassador  in  Russia,  Sir  Charles  Stewart, 
brother  of  Lord  Castlereagh,  were  with  the  allied  armies  led  by 
Moreau  and  Bernadotte.  Pozzo  di  Borgo,  another  fugitive  from 
French  service,  like  Napoleon,  a  Corsican  by  birth,  was  one  of 
the  many  other  eminent  personages  in  English  pay  against 
France.  Besides  Moreau's  instance,  the  war  of  1812  furnished 
yet  more  immediate  practical  refutations  of  at  best  a  harsh  and 
doubtful  doctrine,  the  enforcement  of  which  England  undertook 
to  coerce  by  the  gibbet,  and  Castlereagh  upon  thousands  of  his 
imofl'ending  Irish  countrymen.  Admiral  Cochrane,  who  succeed- 
ed Admiral  Warren  in  command  of  the  British  fleets  in  America 
married  an  American ;  also,  Commodore  Hardy,  who  so  long 


^% 


[1813. 

oUcitude 
ssly  out- 
for  that 
crime  of 
im  birth; 
isly  prac- 
V.mericun 

perpetual 
•,  Colonel 
lear  Que- 
1  hostage, 
ed  against 
ang,  Eng- 
in  humble 
,s  confined 
vernment, 
id  General 
3d  French- 
s  by  birth, 
ivated  ex- 
jr  England 
0  abdicate 
t  of  their 
es,  might 
;lish  rule, 
comman- 
le  Earl  of 
s  Stewart, 
nies  led  by 
itive  from 
wras  one  of 
y  against 
furnished 
harsh  and 
undertook 
nds  of  his 
10  succeed- 
li  America 
10  so  long 


CHAP.  XII.] 


RETALIATION. 


457 


blockaded  Decatur  at  Now  London.  An  act  of  Congress,  like 
the  act  of  Parliament,  incorporating  foreign  seamen  who  marry 
in  England,  would  it  comprehend  those  persons  if  sailors  before 
Mie  mast  but  not  when  risen  to  command?  England  thought 
proper  to  bring  impressment  in  that  much  aggravated  exercise  of 
an  extremely  (luestionable  principle  to  the  standard  of  brute  force. 
As  such  it  was  met,  with  no  other  ad^rantage  to  her  than  in- 
creased iiorror  of  the  press-gang  and  the  gibbet,  which  it  was 
monstrous  to  erect  for  the  execution  of  large  numbers  of  unof- 
fending men  domesticated  throughout  the  United  States,  and  dis- 
posed to  live  in  peace  with  England,  till  war  commanded  their 
new  allegiance.  They  left  Great  liritain,  most  of  them  Ireland, 
a  part  of  that  kingdom  much  oppressed.  They  left  it  with  no 
treasonable  design.  Their  sole  object  was  the  pursuit  of  happi- 
ness elsewhere.  Many  of  them  were  infants  at  departure  from 
the  home  of  their  nativity,  in  search  of  a  happier  home.  Injus- 
tice can  scarcely  be  more  egregious  than  that  which  would  put 
to  death  as  traitors  large  numbers  of  such  inoffensive  and  perse- 
cuted exiles. 

Among  other  complaints  in  this  country  against  that  during 
the  war  of  IS  12,  many  were  current  of  the  hardships  of  Ameri- 
can captivity  in  British  prisons  and  prison  ships.  Such  com- 
plaints had  descended  from  the  Revolution,  and  there  were  many 
survivors  in  1812,  who  had  experienced  those  hardships.  Their 
bitter  recollections  were  revived  by  the  further  enormity  of  the 
measures  of  retaliation,  to  which  our  government  was  driven  by 
the  English  introduction  of  a  ne\/  and  dreadful  grievance.  When 
the  intelligence  was  oflicially  published  at  Washington,  of  the 
seizure  of  our  oliicers  on  parole  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Quebec, 
and  their  incarceration  in  the  towers  of  its  impregnable  fortifi- 
cations, the  semi-official  notice  of  that  extremity  published  in  the 
National  Intelligencer,  just  before  the  second  session  of  the  thir- 
teenth Congress,  aptly  pronounced  it  an  occasion  for  trying  the 
temper  of  the  nation.  If  the  intention  was  to  alarm  and  deter, 
the  very  opposite  was  the  eflect.  It  was  not  in  the  power  of  the 
naturalized  population  of  tlie  United  States,  even  if  so  disposed, 
to  renounce  the  belligerent  duties  of  their  American  allegiance. 
In  those  quarters  of  the  country,  and  particularly  in  the  great 
cities  where  the  Irish  population  was  numerous,  intense  feelings 
of  animosity  to  the  mother  country  broke  forth.      Retaliation 

VOL.  I.  — 39 


^'ii 


■f"!>- 


l..\ 


gj^' 


nm 


fl^ , 


f:  iji 


§y" 


■t' 


':?  J*  f '.  r  ' 

, .'  •  .     '  'f'  ■ '' 
f'i\.  ■,■'■?■'■■  ■ 


458 


IlKTALIATIUX. 


[1813. 


was  proclaimed  from  tlio  house  tops  with  Irish  entliiisiasm.  The 
verso  of  Ltiviticus  was  appc;iled  to:  breach  lor  breacli,  eye  lor 
eye,  tooth  lur  tooth.  In  tlie  legislature  of  Pennsylvania  it  was 
unanimously  resolved  thai  while  deeply  anxious  that  a  sangui- 
nary result  may  be  averted  and  the  calamities  of  war  unembit- 
tered  by  wanton  bloodshed  or  cruelty,  we  are,  nevertheless,  p>  • 
pared,  under  all  circumstances,  to  support  our  government  in 
every  measure  of  just  retaliation  to  which  it  may  be  driven. 

The  JJritish  press,  then  as  mostly,  coarsely  abusive  of  this 
country,  particularly  the  Courier,  which  was  tlie  ministerial 
paper,  put  us  out  of  the  pale  of  civilization  for  wliat  it  stigma- 
tized as  Madison's  chicane  in  breaking  the  bonds  of  allegiance. 
Parricides  ought  to  be  executed  for  attempting  the  life  of  their 
mother  country,  by  impudent,  monstrous  and  unnatural  principle. 
Does  iNIadison  think  we  shall  submit  to  it  ?  If  he  dare  to  retali- 
ate on  the  life  of  one  English  prisoner,  he  puts  himself  out  of  the 
protection  of  the  law  of  nations,  and  must  be  treated  as  an  out- 
law. Armies  and  navies  acting  against  such  outlaws,  are  ab- 
solved from  all  the  laws  of  nations:  hostilities  may  be  carried  on 
against  them  in  any  mode.  We  must  support  public  law  against 
a  systematic  attempt  to  steal  away  our  countrymen  and  arm 
them  against  us. 

Mr.  INIadison  proved  himself  fully  equal  to  that  painful  crisis. 
Calm,  meek  and  forbearing,  his  serene  but  tenacious  and  imper- 
turbable temper  was  better  suited  for  such  an  encounter  than  a 
more  irascible  or  violent  chief-magistrate  might  have  been.  Of 
Proctor's  army,  wliose  capture  just  preceded  the  outrageous 
orders  at  Montreal  and  seizures  at  Quebec,  several  colonels  and 
other  superior  British  ollcers  supplied  the  president  with  means 
which  he  did  not  hesitate  an  instant  to  use  for  retaliation.  Go- 
vernor Wright  introduced  a  bill  in  the  House  of  Representatives, 
and  Mr.  George  W.  Cami)bell,  liimself,  I  believe,  Scotch  by  birth, 
another  in  the  senate,  investing  the  president  with  large  powers 
of  retaliation.  Neither  of  those  bills  became  a  law,  however. 
Independent  of  executive  power,  officers  of  the  army  and  of 
the  navy,  the  commissary-general  of  prisoners,  commanders  of 
private  armed  vessels,  in  short,  nearly  all  invested  with  authority 
even  in  the  most  disaffected  parts  of  New  England,  retorted  that 
last  extreme  of  British  hostility  with  such  energy,  that  Great  Bri- 
tain, soon  forced  to  pause,  was  finally  compelled  to  abandon  the 


CHAP.  XII.] 


UKTALIATION. 


459 


attempt.  Sixteen  of  the  crew  of  the  Chesapeake, having  been  con- 
fined at  Halifax,  as  soon  as  it  was  known,  sixteen  English  sailors 
were  collected  from  the  prison  ship  at  Saletn,  in  Massaciiusctts, 
the  very  forns  of  disalfection  (o  the  war,  and  pnt  in  close  con- 
finement in  the  common  jail  at  Ipswich.  In  ()i  i.jber,  1.S1.'3,  as 
soon  as  Great  Hritain  made  known  her  determination,  no  less 
than  one  hundred  English  soldiers  and  sailors  were  ordered  to 
be  detiiined  for  an  ennal  innnher  understood  to  have  been  sent 
from  Halifax  to  England,  for  trial  as  traitors.  The  relatives  and 
friends  of  the  unfortunate  victims  of  a  cruel  policy,  torn  from 
their  American  families  and  children,  and  threatened  with  death 
for  having  been  guilty  of  no  other  crime  than  fleeing  from  priva- 
tion and  persecution  in  the  pursuit  of  happiness  in  a  new  world, 
were  assured  that  at  least  equal  numbers  of  such  victims  would 
be  set  apart  to  abide  whatever  might  be  then'  fate.  The  whole 
power  of  the  American  people,  and  authority  of  their  govern- 
ment were  pledged  to  vouchsafe  them  at  every  hazard.  The 
British  olficers  taken  at  the  Thames,  were  several  of  them,  with 
SO  men  confmed  at  Newport,  Kentucky.  Perry's  prisoners,  till 
then  treated  with  noble  generosity,  were  put  in  close  confinement 
in  a  common  jail,  by  the  marshal  of  Ohio.  Reaction,  palpably 
politic  in  any  event,  was  so  general  and  so  severe,  that  impreca- 
tions on  their  own  government  began  to  be  uttered  by  numerous 
liritish  hostages,  reduced  from  comfortable  parole  to  strict  con- 
finement. It  is  distressing  to  think  of  what  a  single  execution 
under  this  shocking  system  of  retaliation  might  have  produced. 
Savage  war  and  servile  war  would  have  been  less  revolting. 

At  length  in  April,  1S14,  both  governments  were  enabled  to 
relax  their  respective  measures  of  retaliation.  In  consequence 
of  indulgence  shown  by  Sir  George  Prevost  to  General  Winder, 
during  his  captivity  in  Canada,  [jarticularly,  purmission  to  return 
home,  tlie  president  felt  himself  called  upon  to  extend  like  indulg- 
ence to  British  ollicers  similarly  situated.  About  the  same  time 
Prevost  allowed  Colonel  Lewis  and  Major  Madison,  on  their 
parole,  to  leave  Quebec  and  return  home.  In  consequence  of 
this,  the  president,  not  to  be  outdone  in  philanthropy,  and  dis- 
posed to  encourage  abatements  of  the  shocking  system  forced 
upon  him  by  the  enemy,  gave  directions  that  all  British  ollicers 
held  in  custody  as  hostages,  should  be  permitted  to  go  to  Canada 
on  parole.    Tlius  retaliation,  long  terrible  and  menacing,  began 


¥4 


% 


¥.^ 


460 


RKTALIATION. 


[1813. 


to  lose  its  ferocity,  in  a  way  not  to  irritate  oitlier  nation,  or  mor- 
tify ours.  Voluntary  indnlgcnco  extt'iided  by  l)oth  governnionts, 
snfficiently  simultaneous  to  talio  from  either  the  appearance  of 
yielding,  wiien  in  fact  ours  acted  altogetlier  on  the  defensive, 
opened  a  way  for  relinquishing  a  resort  which  it  was  impossible 
for  England  to  persevere  in  without  incurring  universal  odium. 

This  renmval  of  the  gibbet  by  tacit  retirement  of  both  belli- 
gerents from  its  threatened  erection,  after  the  American  execu- 
tive had  resisted  and  defied  the  whole  power  and  apparent 
determination  of  Great  Britain  to  enforce  by  it  the  execution  of  a 
terrible  assertion  of  lier  rule  of  allegiance,  had  much  greater  ell'ect 
than  relieving  large  numbers  of  naturalized  American  citizens 
from  peril  and  alarm.  It  was  impossible  to  execute  what  was 
threatened :  and  the  threat  only  increased  the  hatred  before  felt 
against  press-gangs  and  compulsory  belligerent  service. 

England  never  lias  been  able  to  get  at  one  time  anywhere 
out  of  England,  more  than  thirty  thousand  liritish  troops  em- 
bodied :  the  rest  of  her  armies  consists  of  foreigners.  The  threat 
to  execute  naturalized  Americans,  involved  more  lives  than  she 
could  send  British  subjects  from  l']uropc  to  execute  it ;  so  that  to 
resist  was  to  frustrate  the  design.  The  physical  force  was  against 
it.  Great  Britain  gave  the  United  States  an  advantage  which 
could  hardly  fail  to  be  taken  over  her  when  she  proclaimed  the 
attempt.  But  the  moral  and  political  consequences  of  its  inevita- 
ble failure  were  much  greater  than  any  exhibition  of  superior 
physical  reaction  by  this  country.  The  result  added  another,  and 
perhaps  the  most  effectual  of  all,  to  the  many  lessons  continually 
learned,  that  Great  Britain  was  not  so  formidable,  inexorable  and 
inflexible  as  large  numbers  of  Americans  believed.  It  helped  to 
extirpate  the  colonial  reverence  which  prevailed  along'the  Atlantic 
seaboard,  and  chiefly  among  the  elevated  and  influential  classes, 
amounting  to  an  inveterate  prejudice  that  England  never  yields. 
Both  individual  and  national  pride  and  tenacity  are  strong  En- 
glish characteristics.  And  deep-rooted  American  impression  of 
her  unyieldingness  was  a  moral  force  which  operated  much 
against  this  country  in  both  wars  with  that.  American  armies, 
legislatur(!s  and  communities,  contained  many  native  Americans 
who  considered  it  almost  hopeless  to  contend  with  Great  Britain, 
on  whom  lier  recognition  of  American  independence  produced 
little  effect  to  render  them  independent  of  English  influence,  and 


[1813. 


CHAP.  XII.l 


nET.\LlAT10N. 


4GI 


or  mor- 
•iinuMits, 
rancc  of 

lifuMsivi', 

ipossil)!e 
odium. 
)tli  bclli- 
11  exocu- 
uppari'iit 
ition  of  a 
Iter  fllcct 
I  citizens 
M\at  was 
(cfore  felt 

iiiywlicre 
oops  cin- 
'he  threat 
1  than  she 
so  that  to 
as  against 
go  which 
\imcd  the 
inevita- 
superior 
ther,  and 
itinually 
able  and 
iclped  to 
Atlantic 
classes, 
er  yields, 
trong  En- 
ression  of 
ed  much 
11  armies, 
iniericans 
it  Britain, 
produced 
lence,  and 


al 


awe.  Wlion  tho  contest  was  reduced  to  the  single  issue  of  im- 
pressment, which  was  the  English  claim  to  perpetuity  of  alle- 
giance marshaled  against  the  American  claim  to  naturalize  all 
foreigners  renouncing  their  native  allegiance,  and  adopting  that 
of  the  United  States,  Great  Britain  shrunk  from  the  exercise  of 
her  sovereign  right.  After  solemnly  proclaiming  and  beginning 
its  severest  exercise,  that  result  could  not  but  be  salutary  upon 
all,  and  unexpected  to  the  idolaters  of  her  majestic  domination. 
Foolish  and  pernicious  reverence  v/as  staggered  by  such  giving 
up  on  her  part  of  an  asserted  princi[)le  for  which,  right  or  wrong, 
all  the  might  of  Great  Britain  was  enlisted,  with  all  her  pride. 
It  was  in  fact  yielding  the  cause  of  the  contest.  Executive 
anxiety  for  peace  adjusted  a  treaty  at  Ghent  without  any  settle- 
ment, but  simply  an  adjournment  of  this  question:  not,  however, 
till  a  stream  of  successes  by  land  and  water  rendered  that  ad- 
journment less  unwise  than  it  otherwise  would  have  been.  In 
the  midst  of  our  discomfitures  and  the  British  triumphs  in  Europe 
and  America,  of  the  year  1S13,  the  virtual  surrender  by  her  of 
the  enforcement  of  perpetual  allegiance,  was  an  American  vic- 
tory, silent  indeed,  and  not  as  much  noticed  then  as  it  deserved 
to  be,  but  vital  to  the  conlroverry  Ly  which  it  practically  appeared 
that  the  British  principle,  however  plausible  in  theory,  was  inca- 
pable of  enforcement. 

The  English  rule  of  allegiance,  and  the  American  of  naturali- 
zation, arc  in  irreconcilable  collision.  Impressment  insisted  on 
by  them,  was  insullerable  by  us;  and  a  surviving  grievance 
after  the  offensive  orders  in  council  were  revoked.  At  the  cap- 
ture of  Washington,  the  British  distributed  great  numbers  of  a 
pamphlet  printed  in  London,  entitled  the  right  and  practice  of 
impressment ;  forcibly,  coarsely,  almost  brutally  written,  denying 
that  Madison  had  for  his  war,  of  which  impressment  was  the  mere 
after-thought  and  pretext,  any  other  motives  than  hopes  of  as- 
sisting France,  and  conquering  Canada;  and  discussing  the  whole 
subject  of  allegiance,  impressment  and  naturalization.  After 
reducing  the  1558  impressed  American  seamen,  said  to  be  our 
account,  to  47  by  theirs,  and  quoting  a  report  of  the  26th  Feb- 
ruary, 1813,  by  a  committee  of  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts, 
to  show  that  of  21,000  eastern  seamen,  only  12  had  been  im- 
pressed by  British  cruisers,  that  pamphlet  explained  the  English 
statutes  of  13  Geo.  2,  and  20  Geo.  3,  naturalizing  foreigners  after 

39* 


0i'c 


462 


RETALIATION. 


[1813. 


two  or  three  years'  service  on  board  British  vessels,  by  assert- 
ing that  suc^  naturalization  is  but  permission  to  enjoy  English 
rights,  not  protection  of  foreigners  enjoying  them  against  demands 
of  their  original  sovereigns;  calling  Madison's  view  of  these 
statutes  foul  falsehoods,  only  fit  for  an  attorney's  clerk.  The 
author  concludes  that  the  only  cause  of  war  between  the  two 
countries,  was  not  of  America  against  England  for  impressment, 
but  of  England  against  America,  for  having  carried  on  under 
legal  and  official  forms,  a  system  of  fraudulent  and  malignant 
hostility  against  the  British  means  of  wealth  in  peace  and  defence 
in  war;  and  that  peace  could  only  but  readily  be  made  by 
America's  giving  up  her  new-fangled  system  of  public  law,  and 
her  attempt,  in  spite  of  God  and  nature,  to  change  British  traitors 
and  deserters  into  honest  American  citizens,  acknowledging  the 
right  of  England  to  impress  her  natives  everywhere,  and  ceasing 
to  wage  war  for  the  mere  abstract  principle  asserted  by  Madison. 
On  the  other  hand,  in  his  annual  message  at  the  beginning  of  the 
second  session  of  Congress,  the  president,  7cli  December,  1S13, 
informed  ns  that  while  in  Canada,  natives  of  the  United  States 
were  compelled  to  bear  arms  against  them,  some  of  whom  we 
had  taken  prisoners,  the  commander  of  that  province  with  the 
sanction  of  his  govemment,  had  selected  from  the  American  pri- 
soners, and  sent  to  Jreat  Britain  for  trial  as  criminals,  a  number 
of  individuals  who  had  emigrated  from  the  British  dominions 
long  prior  to  the  war,  and  incorporated  themselves  into  our 
political  society,  in  the  modes  recognized  by  the  law  and  prac- 
tice of  Great  Britain,  and  who  were  made  prisoners  of  war,  under 
the  banners  of  their  adopted  country,  fighting  for  its  rights  and 
safety.  Protection  of  there  citizens  requiring  an  effectual  inter- 
position in  their  behalf,  a  like  number  of  British  prisoners  of  war 
were  put  into  confinement,  ..  ith  a  notification  that  they  would 
experience  whatever  violence  might  be  committed  on  the  Ameri- 
can prisoners  of  war.  Whereupon,  American  officers  double  the 
number  of  British  soldiers  confined  here,  were  ordered  into  close 
confinement,  with  formal  notice  that  they  would  be  put  to  death, 
in  the  event  of  retaliation  by  death  inflicted  here  for  it  there :  and 
that  furthermore,  the  British  fleets  and  armies  were  ordered  in 
that  event,  to  proceed  with  destructive  severity  against  our  towns 
and  inhabitants.  To  leave  no  doubt  of  our  adherence  to  the  re- 
taliating resort  imposed  on  us  by  the  enemy,  a  correspondent 


CHAP.  XIL] 


RUSSIAN    MEDIATION. 


463 


number  of  British  officers,  prisoners  of  war,  were  immediately 
put  in  close  confinement,  the  president  said,  to  abide  the  fate  of 
those  confined  by  the  enemy,  with  notice  to  themof  our  determi- 
nation to  retaliate  any  other  proceedings  contrary  to  the  legiti- 
mate modes  of  warfare. 

While  the  United  States  were  undergoing  the  English  re- 
vengeful hostilities  of  1813,  including  those  which  produced  the 
terrible  retaliations,  t'^-eatened  as  before  mentioned,  government 
was  flattered  with  ho^.os  of  relief  from  an  unexpected  quarter, 
by  Russian  mediation.  The  deserted  and  almost  useless  con- 
dition of  our  foreign  relations  was  noticed  in  a  former  chapter. 
We  had  hardly  a  sentinel  on  posts  where  there  should  have  been 
many  ;  and  our  only  one  had  no  sympathies  for  the  war.  In  all 
Europe,  Mr.  .John  Quincy  Adams  was  the  only  American  foreign 
minister.  American  diplomatic  advocates  should  have  been 
stationed  in  many,  if  not  most  of  the  capitals  of  Europe,  in  order 
to  explain  and  vindicate  our  cause  and  counteract  the  influence  of 
Great  Britain,  always  great,  and  never  so  great  as  then,  through- 
out that  continent,  actively  operating  to  misrepresent  the  Ameri- 
can war,  and  render  it  odious.  Such  counteraction  would  have 
been  more  effectual  than  any  foreign  mediation,  or  for  bringing 
mediation  about,  if  desirable.  The  English  method  of  discre- 
diting this  country  in  Europe  was  to  stigmatize  the  war  as  made 
in  concert  with  the  French  ruler,  and  to  aid  him  in  resisting 
Great  Britain. 

It  is  not  the  immediate  argument  of  this  sketch  to  enter  upon 
the  quarrel  in  which  he  became  involved  then  with  all  Europe — 
except  Denmark.  The  fact  is  enough  for  our  present  topic  that 
in  the  course  of  1812,  after  our  declaration  of  war,  the  immense 
dictator  of  France  was  involved  in  hostilities,  first  with  Russia, 
and  in  1813  with  all  the  other  potentates  of  Europe,  but  one. 
Acknowledged  chief  magistrate  of  France  by  every  one  of  them, 
he  was  compelled  by  a  coalition,  of  which  Great  Britain  was 
the  head,  to  abdicate  the  French  crown,  and  driven  into  confine- 
ment in  the  little  island  of  Elba. 

In  1812,  by  French  invasion,  the  Russian  empire  was  reduced 
to  the  mere  elements  of  national  existence,  and  rescued  from  de- 
struction by  the  l.indlords  and  their  slaves.  The  emperor,  almost 
dethroned,  withdrew  to  his  E\iropean  capital  St.  Petersburgh, 
while  the  Asiatic  metropolis,  Moscow,  was  sacrificed  for  Russia. 


f 

,.?•(. 


f '  t 


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i 


f  ! 


1^'    / 


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WT    '■•', 


464 


RUSSIAN    MEDIATION. 


[SEPT.,  1813. 


When  the  Russian  conquerors,  next  year,  overran  France,  proba- 
bly the  French  empire  might  have  been  snatched  from  ruin, 
as  the  Russian  was,  by  as  great  a  sacrifice.  During  these  events 
Mr.  Adams  was  the  only  American  minister  in  Europe  from  the 
time  of  Mr.  JBarlow's  death  in  December,  1812,  to  the  arrival 
of  Mr.  Crawford  at  Paris  in  July,  1813.  Mr.  Erving's  special 
mission  to  Denmark  had  closed.  Mr.  Russell's  at  London,  ended 
early  in  September,  1812.  It  was  not  till  October,  1812,  that 
Mr.  Adams  had  information  of  our  v/ar,  and  then  only  by  a 
letter  from  Mr.  Russell,  dated  at  London  in  September,  acquaint- 
ing him  that  the  English  ministry  rejected  Russell's  proposal 
for  peace  after  war  was  declared.  Not  till  December,  1812, 
did  Mr.  Adams  get  a  duplicate  of  his  dispatches  from  Wash- 
ington, dated  the  1st  July,  1812,  to  apprize  him  (»f  the  war  de- 
clared nearly  six  months  be. ore;  his  first  official  communication 
of  that  event.  Meantime  the  French  invasion  of  Russia  had 
been  driven  back  to  Pola.id,  where  Mr.  Barlow  was  invited 
by  the  Duke  of  IJassano  to  meet  the  French  emperor  at  Wilna, 
on  his  way  to  which  place  he  died  at  Czarnovitcli,  tlie  2()th  De- 
cember. 

Jefferson,  perceiving,  what  few  Americans  did,  the  importance 
to  the  United  States  of  both  political  amity  and  commercial  in- 
tercourse with  the  great  Asiatic  empire  which  Russia  had  esta- 
blished in  Europe,  soon  after  the  accession  of  the  Emperor 
Alexander,  resolved  on  cultivating  iiis  good  will.  The  p]rnperoi- 
Alexander  was,  independently  of  his  high  position,  one  of  the 
most  remarkable  men  of  his  age  ;  well-educated,  well-informed, 
liberal,  generous,  and  regarded  this  country  with  such  kindness, 
that  on  the  most  despotic  throne  of  the  Old  World,  he  freely  ex- 
pressed his  admiration  of  the  republican  institutions  of  the  New. 
Jefferson  sent  Levett  Harris  as  American  consul  to  St.  Peters- 
burgh,  through  whom  a  correspondence  ensued  between  the 
Russian  emperor  and  the  American  president,  which  began  the 
good  relations  that  have  subsisted  without  interruption  between 
the  most  absolute  and  the  most  popular  of  sovereignties.  One 
of  the  last  acts  of  Jefierson's  administration  was  to  nominate  an 
Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  to  Russia, 
whom  the  Senate  rejected.  Soon  after  Madison  succeeded  to 
the  presidency  he  appointed,  with  the  Senate's  concurrence,  Mr. 
John  Quincy  Adams  to  that  station.     The  first  Russian  envoy  to 


1 
tit       ^ 


CHAP.  XII.] 


RUSSIAN    MEDIATION. 


465 


this  country  was  Count  Theodore  Pah'en,  one  of  the  sons  of  the 
Count  Pahlou  who  superintended  the  cruel  assassination  of  the 
Emperor  Paul,  by  which  Alexander  acquired  the  throne.  From 
that  event  Russia  ceased  to  be  a  French  connection,  as  Paul's 
admiration  of  Bonaparte  had  rendered  her,  to  become  sometimes 
English,  sometimes  neutral,  never,  even  when  the  Emperor 
Alexander  was  forced  to  submit  to  Napoleon's  continental  sys- 
tem, a  cordial  ally  in  the  restriction  of  Russian  commerce  by  the 
exclusion  of  English,  which  was  distressing  to  the  Russian  em- 
pire. One  of  Napoleon's  warmest  admirers  and  personal  friends, 
Alexander  was  never  reconciled  to  his  system  of  conquest  by 
destroying  commerce.  The  invasion  of  his  dominions  in  1812, 
was  retaliated,  in  1813,  by  that  of  France.  And  when  there  was 
reason  to  believe  that  the  coalition  of  which  Russia  and  Great 
Britain  were  the  principal  members,  would  triumph  over  the 
French,  the  Russian  emperor  proffered  his  mediation  to  put  a 
stop  to  liostilities  between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
which  interrupted  American  commerce  with  Russia.  Count 
Pahlen  had  then  left  this  country,  appointed  minister  to  Brazil, 
and  was  succeeded  here  by  Mr.  Andrew  DaschkotT.  Mr.  Poleti- 
ca,  who  followed  Uaschkoif  as  Russian  minister  in  the  United 
States,  was  a  member  of  Count  Pahlen'.s  mission  here. 

Mr.  Adams'  instructions  from  his  own  government, accompany- 
ing inlbrmation  of  the  war,  were  that  in  resorting  to  it  against  Great 
Britain,  it  was  the  desire  and  hope  of  the  United  States  that  it 
might  be  confuied  to  her  only.  Willi  Franrr,  ouv  afl'airs  in  many 
important  circumstances,  are  still  uiisetth  ' ;  nor  is  there  any 
certainty  that  a  satisfactory  settlement  of  tlumi  will  be  obtained. 
Should  it,  however,  be  the  case,  it  is  not  probable  that  it  will 
produce  any  closer  connection  between  the  United  States  and 
that  power.  It  is  not  anticipated  Eluil  any  event  whatever  will 
have  that  effect. 

Such  was  the  text  of  Mr.  Adams'  instructions  received  by 
him  at  a  moment  when  the  fortunes  of  Napoleon  underwent 
their  first  great  check  in  Russia.  Thanksgivings  for  Russian 
successes,  at  which  the  American  minister  in  St.  Petersburgh 
assisted,  were  in  harmony  with  instructions  which  gave  him  to 
understand  tluutlu;  United  States  would,  under  no  circumstances, 
connect  their  war  will;  that  of  France.  These  instructions  Mr. 
Adams  greatly  extended,  if  he  did  not  transcend  them  in  his  ofli- 


'[<' 


1%. 


'5 


466 


MR.    ADAMS'S    NEGOTIATION. 


[DEC,  1813. 


w  ■ 


n    ■ 


Si  fa- 


cial intercourse  with  the  Russian  government,  preliminary  to  the 
mediation  it  oti'ered,  and  he  cultivated,  to  put  a  stop  to  the  wur. 

On  the  20th  September,  1813,  the  Russian  minister,  Romanzotf, 
informed  Mr.  Adams  that  having  made  peace  and  estal)hshed 
relations  of  amity  and  commerce  with  Great  Britain,  the  emperor 
was  much  concerned  and  disappointed  to  find  the  whole  benefit 
which  he  expected  his  subjects  would  derive  commercially  from 
that  event,  defeated  and  lost  by  the  new  war  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain.  He  therefore  suggested  the  Russian 
mediation  in  terms  of  great  good  will,  wliich  Mr.  Adams  met 
and  answered  with  corresponding  cordiality.  In  the  course  of  his 
conversation  with  the  Russian  minister,  the  American  envoy  wont 
so  far  as  to  say  that  fie  knew  his  government  engaged  in  the 
war  with  reluctance;  that  it  would  be  higlili/  itijurioiifi  both  to 
the  United  States  and  to  England ;  that  he  covld  see  no  good 
result  as  likely  to  arise  from  it  to  any  une.  At  the  time  of 
this  confession,  the  Russian  government  had,  through  Lord  Cath- 
cart,  the  English  ambassador  at  St.  Petersburgh,  informed  the 
English  ministry  of  the  proposed  mccnation,  which  that  ministry 
forthwith  refused.  In  December,  18 1.3,  before  which  time  Ro- 
manzoff  had  shown  JNIr.  Adams  tlu^  otter  to  Daschkoff  direct- 
ing hiin  to  proffer  the  mediation  at  .rashington,  the  American 
minister  gave  the  Russian  assurances,  not  stronger,  perhaps,  than 
the  desire  of  the  American  government,  that  in  no  event  would 
the  United  States  connect  themselves  with  France.  Re|)f^ating 
substantially  the  plain  terms  to  that  effect  of  Monroe's  before- 
mentioned  letter  of  the  1st  July,  1812,  Mr.  Adams,  oi'  the 
11th  December,  1813,  told  Romanzolf  that  the  disposition  of 
the  American  government  to  avoid  that  of  France  was  expressed 
in  terms  as  clear  and  strong  as  language  could  afford.  Roman- 
zoff  answering  that  it  was  the  emperor's  fixed  deteruiination 
to  maintain  friendly  and  commercial  relations  with  the  United 
States,  as  far  as  depended  on  him,  in  their  fullest  extent,  asked 
Mr.  Adams  if  he  had  any  objection  to  Romanzoff's  communi- 
cating to  the  British  government  itself  that  part  of  Adams'  in- 
formation to  Romanzolf  wliich  related  to  France.  Mr.  Adams 
replied,  that  on  the  contrary,  as  the  British  government  had 
in  the  course  of  our  discussion  with  them  frequently  intimated 
the  belief  that  ti\e  American  government  was  partial  to  France, 
and  even  actuated  by  French  infUience,  he  supposed  that  a 


'^1    "■«■ 


CHAP.  XII.] 


RUSSIAN    MEDIATION. 


467 


knowledge  of  this  frank  and  explicit  statement,  with  a  due  con- 
sideiation  of  tlio  lime  and  occasion  on  whicii  it  was  made,  must 
Iiave  a  tendency  to  remove  the  prejudice  of  tlie  liritish  cabinet, 
and  produce  on  their  part  a  disposition  more  incUning  to  con- 
ciliation. Accordingly  Romanzolf  wrote  to  Lieven,  the  Russian 
ambassador  at  London,  instructing  him  to  make  known  to  Cas- 
tlereagh  all  that  had  been  said  by  tlie  American  minister  of  the 
.se/Z/ec/ determination  of  his  government  respecting  France.  That 
communication  Mr.  Adams  undertook  to  authorize  on  his  own 
responsibility,  without  directions  from  his  own  government,  but 
probably  with  their  entire  concurrence,  as  he  fully  made  it  known 
to  them,  and  they  were  far  from  disapproving  it.  In  December, 
1S1;5,  Romanzolf  informed  ]\Ir.  Adams  tliat  the  British  govern- 
ment, witliout  accepting  or  rejecting  tlie  prolfered  Russian  media- 
tion, li.  .1  ansv.ered  the  Russian  ambassador  Lieven's,  suggestion 
of  it,  that  it  would  probably  not  be  acceptable  in  America, 
where,  however,  it  was  seized  with  as  much  avidity  us  it  was 
unhesitatingly  rejected  by  England.  As  Count  Romanzolf 
afterwards  made  known  to  JMr.  Adams,  Count  Lieven's  answer 
from  London  was,  that  the  English  ministry,  in  terms  of  mucli 
politeness,  declined  submitting  to  any  mediation  dill'erences  of  a 
nature  which  involved  the  internal  gov(,>rnmeiit  of  the  British 
nation. 

On  the  «tli  of  March,  1813,  Mr.  Uaschkoff,  the  minister  at 
Washington,  prolfered  the  Russian  mediation  in  the  kindest 
manner,  declaring  that  his  master  took  pleasure  in  doing  jus- 
tice to  the  wisdom  of  the  govi'-nment  of  the  United  States  of 
America,  and  was  convinced  tli\t  it  liad  done  all  that  it  could  to 
prevent  the  rupture.  On  the  Uth  of  March,  1S13,  the  Russian 
mediation  was  formally  accepted.  Mr.  Gallatin,  Mr.  Adams, 
and  Mr.  Bayard,  were  appointed  commissioners  under  it.  The 
merchant  ship  Neptune,  commanded  by  Captain  Jones,  brother  of 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  was  engaged  to  convey  Messrs.  Galla- 
tin and  Bayard,  to  join  Mr.  Adams  at  St.  Petersburgh,  and  a  Rus- 
sian Secretary  Schwertscoff,  left  Norfolk  under  a  flag  of  truce  on 
the  21st  of  March,  1813,  for  the  British  admiral's  ship  in  the 
Cliesapeake,  for  a  safe  conduct  to  protect  the  Neptune  on  her 
voyage.  Soon  after  Messrs.  Gallatin  and  Bayard  repaired  to 
Philadelpliia  to  embark,  with  instructions  wliich  they  united  in 
declaring  were  so  conciliatory  that  they  could  not  fail,  either  to 


468 


RUSSIAN    MEDIATION. 


[JUNE,  1813. 


WW' ' 


■■      ■>!<■, 


"  ',<■ 


r 


^/ ".:-: 


p:.\ 


produce  peace,  or  to  unite  the  whole  United  States  in  support  of 
the  war. 

No  such  end  was  accomplished :  On  the  contrary,  this  attempt 
at  peace  by  mediation,  like  all  the  other  schemes  for  reaching  the 
end  of  war,  but  by  its  vigorous  operations,  though  it  was  proper 
to  embrace  it,  came  to  nothing.  Mr.  Gallatin,  whose  aversion 
to  the  war  never  abated,  was  so  confident  of  peace  by  Russian 
med.ation,  that  he  desired  to  be  one  of  the  commission  to  go 
abroad  for  it.  He  scouted  the  idea  as  absurd  of  England's  re- 
fusins-  it :  and  with  the  strength  of  error  which  characterizes  mis- 
takes  of  superior  men,  insisted  on  the  certainty  of  prompt  pacifi- 
cation. Mr.  Adams,  whose  long  residence  in  Europe  aft'ected 
him  with  that  distrust  of  American  institvilions,  which  sometimes 
is  part  of  American  patriotism,  was  so  solicitous  of  propitiating 
England,  that  as  an  American  minister  he  made  known  to  Lord 
Castlereagh  his  opinion,  that  no  good  could  result  from  the  war 
to  any  one.  Mr.  Bayard,  as  a  senator,  voted  against  it.  The 
war  had  not  one  oliicial  American  advocate  in  Europe,  except 
Crawford,  who  did  not  get  there  until  Napoleon's  downfall.  Its 
only  patron  there  was  his  conqueror,  the  Emperor  Alexander, 
and  in  the  insolence  of  intoxicating  triumphs.  Great  Britain  re- 
jected his  mediation.  There  were  some  who  disapproved  impor- 
tuning peace  by  foreign  mediation.  I  denounced  it  in  my  first 
speecii  in  the  House  of  Representatives,  which  it  may  be  proper 
to  allude  to,  lest  this  narrative  should  appear  biased  by  improper 
views  of  the  subject.  Madison's  administration,  by  all  its  attenipts 
at  conciiiaiuig  the  enemy,  and  the  party  countenancing  the  enemy, 
gained  no  strength,  won  no  way  toward  peace.  Victory  would 
liave  done  more  in  1S13  than  all  collateral  resorts.  Even  by 
escaping  all  connection  with  France,  that  it  might  parry  the  loud 
and  incessant  blows  of  English  inAuence,  reverberated  in  the 
United  States,  sounding  the  falsehood  of  subserviency  to  the 
despotic  and  i  terinj,  ruler  of  the  French — even  that  contagion 
was  less  dangerous  than  refra:  ng  from  waging  war,  which  it 
was  impossiuie  to  do  with  ade(iuate  effect,  while  peace  was 
solicited  by  derogatory  resorts.  Mr.  Gallatin  and  Mr.  Adams 
vvere  not  its  most  successful  negotiators,  but  Brown  and  liis 
companions  in  Canada;  Jackson  and  his  in  Loui.siana,  and  tlieir 
naval  associates  everywhere.  That  'rial  of  American  govern- 
ment proved  that  free  institutions  are  strong  enough,  if  well  '  d- 


CHAP.  XII.] 


MORRAU. 


■1G9 


ministered,  to  vindicate  a  nation  by  war.  In  1812  and  1813  tlie 
despotic  goveriniient  of  Russia  was  more  convulsed  by  hosti- 
lities than  the  republican  government  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  government  of  France  was  demolished  by  war,  while  that 
of  the  United  States  was  much  more  dismayed  than  endangered 
by  it. 

At  I'hiladelphia  the  American  envoys  on  their  way  to  Russia 
found  General  Moreau  also  going  there,  but  clandestinely,  hav- 
ing secretly  transferred  his  services  to  the  Emperor  Alexander, 
that  he  might  wrealc  his  long-cherished  vengeance  on  the  Emperor 
Napoleon.  Moreau,  who  had  then  passed  several  years  in  Phila- 
delphia, New  York,  and  Morrisville,  a  village  near  Trenton, 
where  he  resided  in  a  house  before  inhabited  by  Robert  Morris, 
was  a  stout,  square,  sociable  man,  with  fine  eyes,  but  nothing  in 
personal  intercourse  to  remind  one  of  the  hero  of  Hohenlinc'en. 
Like  Napoleon  in  being  very  talkative,  he  had  no  resemblance 
to  him  in  the  varied  intelligence  and  fascination  of  his  converse. 
Shooting,  lishing,  smoking,  drinking,  pastimes  without  mental 
employment,  occupied  Morean's  time;  and  in  conversation  he 
was,  as  in  all  other  intellectual  attractions,  far  inferior  to  Mr. 
Gallatin.  He  constantly  spoke  of  Napoleon  as  a  coward,  and  of 
his  new  nobility  as  men  spat  by  a  tyrant.  Influenced,  perlia[)s, 
by  his  wife,  who  was  accomplished  in  the  elegancies  of  physical 
education,  and  sighed  for  pjuropean  opportunities  to  display  them, 
actuated  by  hatred  of  his  conqueror,  the  second  general  on  the 
long  roll  of  superior  military  men  produced  by  the  P'rench  Revo- 
lution, was  led  to  put  himself  at  the  head  of  foreign  armies,  with, 
another  more  fortunate  French  commander,  Bernadotte,  and  left 
this  country  lor  Europe  about  the  time  that  Messrs.  Gallatin  and 
IJayard  did.  On  the  21st  June,  ISl3,  the  day  they  entered  the 
sound  Ki  the  entrance  of  the  Baltic,  Moreau  sailed  from  New 
York  in  charge  of  Schwinin,  a  subordinate  of  the  Russian  lega- 
tion, arrived  at  Gottenburg  the  24th  July,  fell  mortally  wounded 
by  a  cannon  ball  at  the  side  of  the  Emperor  Alexander,  the  26th 
of  August,  at  the  battle  of  Dresden,  and  expired  the  2d  Septem- 
ber, with  all  the  solace  that  he  could  receive  from  enemies  of  his 
country. 

Mr.  Adams'  assurances,  through  Count  Romanzotf  and  Lord 
Cathcart,  to  Count  Lieven  and  Lord  Castlereagh,  of  the  American 
government's  settled  determination  to  have  no  connection  with 

VOL.  I.— 40 


£1    '*. 


r  »V  \ 


^ 


U 


470 


BRITISH     MINISTRY. 


[JULY,  1813. 


that  of  France,  and  its  anxiety  for  conciliation  with  England, 
v'-ere  followed  np  by  Mr.  Gallatin  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Alexander 
ing,  since  Lord  Ashburton,  whose  commercial  house  were 
u.-uivors  of  the  American  government  in  Europe,  in  wliich  Mr. 
Gallatin  strove  to  bring  his  mission  to  Castlereagh's  good  will 
through  Mr.  Baring,  who,  having  married  in  this  country,  was 
well  disposed  to  it.  But  Castlereagh,  then  triumphing  in  Wel- 
lington's successes  in  Spain,  and  Napoleon's  change  of  fortune 
in  Germany,  was  bent  on  conquering  France  and  punishing 
America  for  co-operating  with  her.  A  hard,  bold,  reckless  statos- 
inan,  Castlereagh  inherited  Pitt's  hatred  of  France.  Pitt  sunk 
into  a  premature  grave  without  enjoying,  like  Castlercagh,  the 
power  of  victories  begun  by  Nelson  and  completed  by  Welling- 
ton, whose  final  march  on  the  French  capital  where  he  twice 
dictated  peace,  is  said,  by  a  British  historian,  to  have  been  more 
the  work,  at  least  the  hardy  conception  of  the  inferior  statesman 
than  the  victorious  soldier.  Great  Britain  had  never  been  so 
great  as  when,  with  Castlercagh  as  prime  minister  of  a  sensual 
pruice  regent,  who  could  seldom  be  prevailed  upon  to  attend 
even  to  the  indispensable  routine  duties  of  goverimient,  which  dis- 
turbed the  luxurious  trifling  of  his  mature  age,  representing  a 
father  incapacitated  by  insanity,  the  alfairs  of  that  vast  empire 
were  everywhere  prosperous  throughout  Europe,  Asia,  and 
America.  George  the  Fourth's  first  act,  as  regent,  was  to  dis- 
card all  the  associations  of  his  prior  life,  and  throw  himself  into 
the  arms  of  those  who  were  no  friends  of  America.  Eldon, 
Vansittart,  Buckinghamshire,  Rose,  Palmerston,  Grant,  Melville, 
Sidmouth,  Castlercagh  and  Richmond  were  a  ministry  of  a  school 
in  which  liberal  sentiments  were  never  taugiit,  or  American  rights 
tolerated.  The  present  prime  minister.  Peel,  as  Irish  secretary, 
then  on  the  first  step  of  the  ladder  of  which  he  has  ably  reached 
the  top,  was  the  only  one  who  could  at  that  time  conceive  the 
reforms  which  American  example  has  since  wrought  in  England. 
The  United  States  were  despised  for  pusillanimous  submission, 
and  feeble  resistance  even  when  war  was  declared.  They  were 
detested  for  French  subserviency.  Their  appeal  to  Russian  pro- 
tection was  at  once  an  acknowledgment  of  weakness,  and  resort 
to  a  dangerous  intervention.  Great  Britain  felt  no  inducement  to 
forbear  the  infliction  due  to  the  United  States,  who  deserved  the 
punishment  which  (  istlereagh  meditated  at  the  same  time  for 


»' 


CHAP.  XII.J         FNGLAND    REJECTS    MEDIATION. 


471 


Amcric;i  and  France.  Impressment  was  a  domestic  right,  which 
was  not  a  fit  subject  for  foreign  mediation.  And  if  it  were, 
Rii.ssia  was  not  a  safe  umpire.  Such  were  the  sentiments  of  the 
Enghsh  ministry  when  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Gallatin  by  vnin 
propitiation,  utiempled  to  solicit  peace  through  Russian  patronage. 

It  is  unimportant  whether  Lord  Palmerston,  then  Secretary  of 
War,  actually  wrote,  or  Lord  Castlereagh,  Secretary  of  Slate  for 
foreign  affairs,  and  prime  minister,  only  dictated  the  subjoined 
paragrai<li  from  the  ministerial  paper,  the  London  Courier:  it 
proclaim(!fl  the  national  sentiment  and  ministerial  resolution,  to 
make  no  terms  with  this  country  till  crushed  to  submission. 

We  hope,  said  the  Courier,  the  Russian  mediation  will  be  re- 
fused. Indeed  we  are  sure  it  will.  We  have  a  love  for  our 
naval  pre-eminence  that  cannot  bear  to  have  it  even  touched  by 
a  foreign  hand.  Russia  can  be  hardly  supposed  to  be  adverse  to 
the  principle  of  the  armed  neutrality,  and  that  idea  alone  would 
be  sullicient  to  make  us  decline  the  offer  We  must  take  our 
stand — never  to  rommit  our  naval  rights  to  the  mediation  of 
any  power.  This  is  the  flag  we  must  nail  to  the  national  mast, 
and  go  down  rather  than  strike  it.  The  hour  of  concession  and 
of  compromise  is  past.  Peace  must  be  the  consequence  nfjmnish- 
ment  to  America  ;  and  retraction  of  lier  insolent  demands  nmst 
precede  negotiation.  The  thunder  of  our  cannon  must  first  strike 
terror  into  the  American  shores,  and  Great  Britain  must  be  seen 
and  fell  in  all  the  majesty  of  her  migiit,from  Boston  to  Savannah, 
from  the  lakes  of  Canada  to  the  mouihs  of  the  Mississippi. 

In  another  London  paper  it  was  said,  Mr.  Gallatin  and  Mr. 
Bayard  are  certainly  going  to  Russia,  to  open  a  negotiation  ibr 
peace  under  lur  mediation.  On  this  point  there  cannot,  we  ap- 
prehetul,  be  any  doubt.  Commit  our  naval  rights  to  the  media- 
tion of  a  foreign  i)ow(;r?  We  hope  and  believe  no  British 
minister  would  entertain  such  an  intention  for  a  moment. 

Accotdiiigly,  the  English  answer  to  our  humble  suggestion  of 
the  Russian  mediation  was  cold  and  disdainful  denial.  On  the 
first  of  September,  1813,  Lord  Cathcart,  the  English  ambassador 
to  Russia,  then  with  the  allied  armies  at  Toplitz,  answered  the 
Russian  Secretary,  Count  Nesselrode's  prior  verbal  communica- 
tion on  this  subject,  that  the  Prince  Regent  had  not  found  him- 
self in  a  situation  to  accept  the  mediation  of  his  imperial  majesty, 
to  whose  beneficient  wishes,  nevertheless,  of  seeing  the  war 


I'll.  .■ 


?,:'<V"i 


472 


ENCLAND     REJECTS    MEDIATION', 


[\nv.,  1R13. 


rsi 


1, 


*»i' 


closed,  the  Regent  desired  to  give  eli  jct.  Witli  tins  view,  liaviiig 
learih  J  tluit  the  Aiuericuii  envoys  liad  arrived  in  Russiii,  not- 
withstanding ll'  d  the  Regent  I'onnd  hinjseU"  uniiov  the  niieessity 
of  not  accepting  the  mediation  ot  any  Irii  iidiy  j)ower,  in  he 
qnestion  lorniing  tlie  principal  ohject  in  dispute,  he  was  ready  to 
nominate  p'oni[)Otentiaries  to  treat  directly  with  those  of  America. 
If,  through  the  good  oitices  of  his  imperial  majesty,  this  proposi- 
tion should  be  accepted,  the  Prince  Regent  would  prefer  that  tho 
confcionces  should  be  hekl  at  London,  on  account  of  the  facililier 
it  would  give  to  the  discussion.  If  this  choice  should  meet  with 
insuperable  obstacles,  his  royal  highness  preferred  Gottenburg 
as  the  place  nearest  to  England. 

While  impressment  by  sea  and  perpetual  allegiance  every- 
wheit;  were  thr  English  conditions,  the  ministry  repelled  Rus- 
sian or  any  mediation,  and,  thougli  willing  to  listen  to  the  Ame- 
rican prayer  tor  peace,  required  that  it  should  be  submitted  at 
the  British  metropolis,  or  some  other  place  as  near  as  possible  to 
England. 

On  the  4th  of  November,  1S13,  Lord  Castlereagh  communi- 
cated to  Mr.  Monroe,  for  the  president's  information,  the  answer 
which  Lord  Cathcart  was  directed  to  present  to  the  Russian 
gov'-riikVient,  as  soon  as  the  Prince  Regent  was  informed  that 
Amciicaa  plenipotentiaries  had  been  nominated  to  negotiate 
peaiH;  uiider  the  mediation  of  Russia.  Lord  Cathcart,  from  the 
imperial  head-quarters,  had  informed  Lord  Castlereagh  that  the 
American  commissioners  had  no  objection  to  negotiate  at  Lon- 
don, and  were  desirous,  as  the  liritish  government  liad  declared 
itself,  that  this  business  should  not  be  mixed  with  the  affairs  of 
the  continent :  but  that  the  powers  of  the  Americ m  connnissioncrs 
were  limited  to  negotiate  under  the  mediation  of  Russia.  Under 
these  circumstances  Lord  Cathcart's  note  was  transmitted  to  the 
president,  that,  if  disposed,  he  might  enter  upon  a  direct  negotia- 
tion for  peace.  But,  added  Castlereagh,  the  terms  must  not  be 
inconsistent  with  the  established  maxims  of  public  law,  and  the 
maritime  rights  of  the  British  empire.  Early  in  January,  1814, 
Monroe  answered  Castlereagh's  letter,  regretting  the  English 
rejection  of  Russian  mediation,  especially  as  the  president  was 
called  upon  to  take  another  course  before  he  had  heard  from 
Messrs.  Gallatin,  Adams  and  Bayard.  It  was  a  delicate  step  to 
recede  from  mediation  kindly  offered  and  accepted.    Neverthe- 


NOV.,  1S13 


CHA1>.  XH.] 


RUSSIAN    VICTORIES. 


473 


w.Ikiviu<; 
ussia,  not- 
lU'cossity 
rcY,  in  iUe 
s  ready  to 
■  America, 
is  proposi- 
er  lliat  tho 
ic  lUcilitier 
meet  with 
jottenburg 

lice  c  very- 
jelled  Rus- 
)  the  Ame- 
ibmitted  at 
possible  to 

communi- 
the  answer 
10  Kussiaii 
jrmed  that 
negotiate 
t,  from  the 
^h  that  the 
te  at  Lon- 
id  declared 
le  a  Hairs  of 
iinissioncrs 
|;iii.     Under 
if  ted  to  the 
L'ct  negolia- 
lust  not  be 
w,  and  the 
uary,  1814, 
le   English 
sident  was 
leard  from 
cate  step  to 
Neverthe- 


less, the  president  acceded  to  the  English  proposition,  and  would 
take  the  measures  depending  on  him  for  carrying  it  into  effect 
at  Gottenbiirg,  it  being  presumed  that  his  majesty  the  King  of 
Sweden,  as  the  friend  of  both  parties,  would  readily  acquiesce  in 
the  choice  of  a  place  within  his  dominions,  for  their  pacific  nego- 
tiations. 

The  great  succ(!sses  of  tlic  ahied  arms,  including  Sweden, 
whos(!  forces  were  led  to  battle  by  the  elected  crown  prince  of 
that  kingdom,  liernadotte,  I  st  then  taken  place.     At  the 

battles  of  Dresden  and  Hull  ^'ist,  Peterwalde,  Dolnit/  and 

Ilicliolfswerde,  in  Septembei  'lan  and  lianau  in  Octo- 

ber, the  fhckering  light  oi'  >  star  was  obviously  going 

out.  For  all  these  victories  b^  Enghssu  stipendiaries,  one  of  our 
commissioners  to  treat  for  peace,  had  attended  solemn  thanks- 
givings celebrated  in  the  splendid  Greek  churches  of  St.  Peters- 
burg, Tile  popular  effects  of  these  prodigious  reverses  were 
deeply  felt  and  loudly  told  throughout  the  United  States.  They 
occasioned  in  England  a  delirium  of  joy,  and  were  hailed  with 
acclamations  by  u  large  party  in  tliis  country.  Communicating  to 
Congress  the  7lh  of  January,  1813,  tlie  correspondence  concerning 
the  Uussian  mediation,  the  president  said,  that  in  appreciating  the 
accepted  proposal  of  Great  Britain,  Congress  must  not  fail  to 
keep  in  mind  that  vigorous  preparations  for  carrying  on  the  war, 
could  in  no  respect  impede  the  progress  to  a  favourable  result, 
whilst  a  relaxation  of  such  preparations,  should  the  wishes  of 
the  United  States  for  a  speedy  restoration  of  the  blessings  of 
peace  be  disappointed,  would  necessarily  liave  the  most  injurious 
consequences. 

For  the  present  we  leave  Russia  in  Europe  and  the  Emperor 
Alexander's  ineffectual  mediation.  His  rebuke  of  Mr.  Gallatin's 
importunity  for  peace  will  appear  in  another  year,  when  the 
American  envoys  followed  that  monarch  to  London.  All  that 
need  be  added  here  is,  that  in  his  official  communication  to  our 
government  in  1813,  he  had  the  generous  resolution  to  make  his 
minister  declare  before  England  and  the  world,  that  he  took 
pleasure  in  doing  justice  to  the  wisdom  of  the  United  States, 
and  was  convinced  that  they  had  done  all  they  could  to  prevent 
the  rupture,  which  he  wished  to  heal.  He  neither  intimated  nor 
perceived  French  infliience  in  it. 

The  balance  of  power  in  Europe,  and  pragmatic  disposition 

40* 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-S) 


A 


V] 


•VQ 


'^ 


^;. 


'/ 


/A 


1.0 


I.I 


1^  128     1 2.5 

|io    "^     i^B 

mil  1.8 


1.25     1.4      1.6 

•• 6"     

► 

Hiotographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  872-4503 


L4> 


474 


RUSSIAN    VICTORIES. 


[1813. 


W^-' 


of  all  the  great  states  of  that  continent,  especially  England  and 
France,  have  for  ages  kept  alive  controversies  for  national  influ- 
ence, which  prevail  as  much  in  peace  as  war.  English  and  French 
parties  continually  struggle  for  ascendancy  in  Russia,  Turkey, 
Germany,  Spain,  and  other  sovereignties  which  ought  to  be  self- 
sustained  and  independent.  Those  conflicting  influences  reached 
America;  and  in  the  war  of  1812,  furnished  means  by  which 
England  operated  with  more  effect  than  by  arms. 

European  influence  in  America  must  needs  be  great.  It  is 
the  most  difficult  consummation  of  American  freedom  to  rise 
above  it,  and  consider  all  foreign  nations  alike,  as  ad..,onished  by 
the  declaration  of  independence.  The  war  of  1812  was,  for  this 
accomplishment,  of  inestimable  importance.  .  t  may  surprise 
those  of  the  present  day,  who  have  come  to  years  of  discretion 
since  then,  to  learn  that  the  most  effective  of  all  the  moral  and 
political  influences  operating  against  that  war  was  the  prejudice 
which  England  studiously,  yet  naturally  and  easily  inculcated, 
that  it  was  made  by  an  American  government  under  French 
influence.  So  much  is  this  recrimination  of  that  period  faded 
away,  that  at  present  it  is  not  easy  to  conceive  how  flagrant  it 
was  then.  The  party  opposed  to  the  war  laid  hold  of  what  were 
called  the  Russian  victories,  as  a  lever  to  wield  with  great  power, 
against  Madison's  administration  and  the  war's  supporters.  All 
along  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  from  Boston  to  Baltimore,  the 
triumphs  of  the  allies  of  England  were  celebrated  by  public 
festivals  and  other  demonstrations  of  exultation,  at  the  approach- 
ing overthrow  of  the  French  tyrant.  That  party  contrivance  in 
Boston,  where  such  things  originated,  wr  s  carried  to  extremes  at 
once  ludicrous  and  humiliating.  Enstaphieve,the  Russian  consul 
there,  became  a  shrine  for  faction  to  kneel  before,  and  a  person- 
age more  important  than  DaschkoO",  the  emperor's  representative 
at  Washington,  who  properly  discountenanced  interference  on 
occasions  unbecoming,  he  said,  for  Russian  participation  in  Ame- 
rica. Eustaphieve  composed  a  farce  called  the  March  to  PariSy 
in  which  troops  of  Cossacks  figured  on  the  Boston  stage,  to 
crowded  audiences  of  the  New  England  ladies  and  gentlemen, 
exulting  with  that  insignificant  foreigner  in  what  was  hailed  as 
the  defeat  of  America. 

At  a  public  entertainment  given  to  Eustaphieve,  to  celebrate 
the  Russian  victories,  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  gentlemen 


CHAP.  XII.] 


HARRISON    GRAY    OTIS. 


475 


of  Massachusetts,  her  frequent  and  eloquent  representative  in 
both  Houses  of  Congress,  Mr.  Harrison  Gray  Otis,  son  of  the 
venerable  Secretary  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  deli- 
vered a  speech  which  indicated  the  derogatory  spirit  then  pre- 
valent among  those  who,  step  by  step,  in  unjustifiable  opposi- 
tion, were  brought  eventually  to  the  L.st  degradation  of  such 
extremes  in  the  Hartford  Convention,  of  which  that  gentleman 
was  a  leading  member,  and  one  of  the  three  disconcerted  com- 
missioners to  Congress,  put  to  shame  and  confusion  by  victorious 
peace.  In  Mr.  Otis'  Russian  speech,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  say 
of  the  nation  his  country  was  at  war  against,  «  One  nation  re- 
mained true  to  herself,  and  competent  to  sustain  her  liberties,  but 
not  competent  or  disposed  to  force  upon  others  (meaning  this) 
the  benefits  of  protection  and  freedom,  the  value  of  which  they 
were  too  stupid  to  distinguish,  or  too  proud  and  jealous  to 
accept.  But  suddenly  the  Almighty  fiat,  which  first  illumined 
creation,  was  repeated  :  God  said,  Let  there  be-light,  and  there 
was  light.  A  light  of  glorious  effulgence  burst  from  the  north- 
ern vaults  of  Heaven.  The  skies  of  Russia  sparkled  with  their 
peculiar  splendours,  and  exhibited  to  the  astonished  world  its 
enemy  prostrate  and  in  ruin.  The  basis  of  the  disastrous  policy 
which  is  big  with  ruin  for  our  country,  is  undermined,  and  we 
are  rescued  from  our  greatest  danger.  The  rage  of  the  passions 
which  have  produced  the  present  war  will  now  be  suddenly  as- 
suaged: they  are  deprived  of  their  chief  aliment.  With  probably 
great  sufferings  yet  to  endure,  bitter  experience  has  a  chance  to 
make  us  wise  before  it  makes  us  slaves." 

Party  conflict  so  far  resembles  other  war  that  success  is  mostly 
decisive  of  its  character  and  that  of  the  con  .batants.  There  is 
fortune  of  faction  as  well  as  of  war.  It  wiil  probably  be  the 
effect  of  the  party  excesses  of  the  war  of  1812  to  deter  similar 
attempts  in  future  collisions ;  for  statesmen,  like  generals,  who 
failed  in  great  contests,  lost  at  least  all  national  consideration. 
Mr.  Otis,  Governor  Strong  and  Mr.  Quincy  were  prominent 
citizens  of  New  England,  who  might  have  contributed  much  to 
preserve  the  national  influence  they  helped  to  destroy.  In  most 
respects  less  provincial  than  many  others,  Mr.  Otis  became  a 
martyr  to  the  effort  to  distinguish  in  war  between  a  country  and 
its  government.  The  option  is  free  to  all.  But  they  choose  at 
their  peril.    Speech,  the  press,  state  legislation  were  perfectly 


,1 


A- ,. 


^4 


f. 


k.A 


476 


ENGLISH    MANIFESTO. 


[FEB.,  1813. 


free  throughout  the  United  States  in  the  war  of  1812.  But 
those  who  carried  that  freedom  to  licentiousness  and  deroga- 
tory disaffection,  suffered  punishment,  not  corporeal,  yet  severe. 
Leaving  them,  if  otherwise  respectable,  their  provincial  and 
local  notability,  it  extinguished  them  as  men  of  the  American 
nation. 

It  was  unwholesome  public  sentiment  in  the  United  States  to 
rejoice  in  the  overthrow  of  the  French  empire,  even  with  a 
military  dictator  or  despot  at  its  head.  Still  the  democratic 
principle  of  popular  sovereignty  was  cast  down,  great  measures 
with  a  great  man,  however  spoiled  by  fortune  and  arbitrary 
in  action.  The  armies  of  Russia  and  Germany,  in  English  pay, 
superintended  by  the  English  ambassador  in  Ritssia,  Cathcart  and 
Lord  Castlereagh's  brother.  Sir  Charles  Stewart,  attending  those 
armies,  to  see  that  their  English  stipends  were  earned  by  war 
against  the  French,  were  armies  of  enemies  to  the  American 
republican  principle,  and  their  triumphs  were  our  discomfitures. 
Such  was  the  sentiment  of  the  great,  right-minded  body  of  the 
American  nation  concerning  the  celebration  in  the  United  States 
of  Russian  victories,  which  were  not  confined  to  New  England, 
but  extended  along  the  seaboard,  and  one  of  the  most  offensive 
of  those  festivals  took  place  at  Georgetown,  in  the  District  of 
Columbia. 

Instead  of  Russian  victories,  the  war  party  celebrated  those 
of  their  own  country,  particularly  those  by  sea,  which  were  open 
to  persons  of  all  parties,  and  should  have  been  gratifying  more 
especially  to  the  maritime  and  con^        Mai  population. 

When  Parliament  assembled  on  2d  February,  1813,  Lord 
Castlereagh  presented  the  Pr'n^e  Regent's  proclamation  or  mani- 
festo of  its  causes  as  explained  to  the  world  by  Great  Britain,  in 
the  document  published  for  that  purpose  the  9th  January  of  that 
year.  That  war  could  not  be  avoided  without  the  sacrifice  of 
England's  maritime  rights,  or  injurious  submission  to  France, 
this  document  pronounced  a  truth  which  the  American  goverr 
ment  would  not  deny.  Arguing  at  large  the  questions  at  issue 
between  France  and  England,  as  if  the  United  States  were  a 
party  belligerent  or  colonial  to  them,  it  pronoimced  partiality  to 
France  to  be  as  observable  in  American  negotiations  as  in  their 
measures  of  alleged  resistance.  Contingent  revocation  of  the 
French  decrees  was  accepted  by  the  president  as  absolute,  and 


[FEB.,  1813. 


CHAP.  XII.] 


ENGLISH    WAR    MANIFESTO. 


477 


812.  But 
id  (leroga- 
yet  severe, 
incial  and 
American 

id  States  to 
'en  with  a 
democratic 
t  measures 
d  arbitrary 
Inglish  pay, 
athcart  and 
nding  those 
led  by  war 
3  American 
scomfitures. 
body  of  the 
nited  States 
w  England, 
)st  offensive 
District  of 

rated  those 
were  open 
ying  more 

1813,  Lord 
on  or  mani- 

Britain,  in 
nary  of  that 
sacrifice  of 
to  France, 
;an  goverr  ■ 
)ns  at  issue 
tes  were  a 
jartiaUty  to 

as  in  their 
,tion  of  the 

isolute,  and 


England  requ.red  to  repeal  the  orders  in  council  unconditionally. 
Audaciously  denying  employment  of  the  Indians,  this  document 
boldly  declared  that  the  real  origin  of  the  contest  was  that  spirit 
long  unhappily  actuating  the  councils  of  the  United  States;  their 
marked  partiality  in  palliating  and  assisting  the  aggressive  ty- 
ranny of  France;  their  systematic  endeavour  to  inflame  the 
people  against  the  defensive  means  of  Great  Britain ;  their  ungene- 
rous conduct  towards  Spain,  the  intimate  ally  of  Great  Britain, 
and  tlioir  unworthy  desertion  of  the  cause  of  other  neutral  na- 
tions. Through  the  prevalence  of  such  councils  America  had  been 
associated  in  policy  with  France,  and  committed  in  war  against 
Great  Britain,  This  disposition  of  the  government  of  the  United 
States,  this  complete  subserviency  to  the  ruler  of  France,  are 
evident  in  almost  every  page  of  the  official  correspondence  of 
the  American  with  the  French  government.  Whilst  contending 
against  France  in  defence  not  only  of  the  liberties  of  Great 
Britain,  but  of  the  world,  the  Prince  Regent  was  entitled  to  look 
for  a  different  result.  From  their  common  origin,  from  their 
common  interests,  from  their  professed  principles  of  freedom  and 
independence,  the  United  States  were  the  last  power  in  which 
Great  Britain  could  have  expected  to  find  a  willing  instrument 
and  abettor  of  French  tyranny. 

These  totally  false  and  absurd  imputations  of  French  influence 
in  America,  were  not  only  natural,  but  politic  in  England.  They 
were  the  inveterate  prejudice  of  a  nation,  for  many  centuries 
mostly  at  war,  always  at  variance  with  France.  But  applied  to 
the  United  States,  they  were  egregiously  false  as  to  their  govern- 
ment, and  applicable  only  to  the  partial,  well  nigh  subdued  sym- 
pathies of  portions  of  the  American  people,  taught  to  be  grateful 
for  French  aid  in  their  revolutionary  struggle  with  Great  Britain, 
and  inclined  to  rejoice  in  French  emancipation  from  absolute 
government,  by  a  revolution  that  followed  their  own.  While  to 
no  great  extent  or  depth,  this  was  the  American  feeling,  the  in- 
fluence of  England  in  the  United  States  was  paramount,  univer- 
sal and  profound.  It  required  not  only  the  war  of  1812,  but  its 
English  inhumanities  and  American  successes  to  eradicate  a  colo- 
nial reverence,  which  infatuated  large  parts  of  the  most  influential 
classes  of  the  country,  and  as  was  shown  in  the  first  chapter  of 
this  historical  sketch,  inflamed  the  clergy,  the  bar,  the  merchants, 
with  the  constituted  authorities  of  whole  states  in  New  England, 


;t  .• 


'?*(';. 
€' 


*.M 


478 


FOREIGN    INFLUENCE. 


[1813, 


■  U 


»!&>: 


to  deplorable  English  subserviency.  Falsely  imputing  to  France 
a  pervading  influence  which  England  alone  exercised,  she  nnight 
have  preserved  it  for  ever,  but  for  the  repeated  hostilities  to  which 
that  country  has  driven  this.  Unintermitted  enmity  of  the  English 
press,  and  literature,  commercial  and  territorial  controversy,  have 
kept  up  perpetual  ill-will  between  them.  At  the  same  time,  the 
course  of  events  has  been  such  as  to  alienate  the  governments  of 
France  and  the  United  States,  which,  with  strong  political  and 
commercial  inducements  for  more  extensive  intercourse,  have  sel- 
dom, if  ever,  been  in  harmony.  It  is  the  fate  of  England  and  the 
United  States  to  communicate  mostly  through  commercial  inter- 
course. There  are  in  England  large  and  powerlul  classes,  the 
aristocracy  in  all  its  branches,  noble  and  gentle,  the  great  landed 
interest,  the  clergy,  army  and  navy,  constituting  with  the  populace 
a  great  majority  of  Great  Britain,  with  whom  Americans  iiave 
scarcely  any  communication.  We  deal  almost  exclusively  with 
English  merchants,  manufacturers  and  government.  In  like  ex- 
clusion from  American  public  sentimer.t  and  power,  the  English 
government  confines  its  agency  to  the  American  sea  ports,  and  a 
political  metropolis.  With  the  great  landed  interest,  the  planters 
and  farmers  of  the  United  States,  who  control  the  American  go- 
vernment, England  has  no  relation  or  knowledge  Foster,  the 
English  minister's  house  at  Washington,  was  the  resort  of  those 
representing  the  commerce  of  the  seaboard ;  less  educated  or 
independent  than  the  elevated  classes  of  the  rural  population ; 
more  colonial,  more  obsequious  to,  more  intimate  with  England, 
and  less  acquainted  with  the  rest  of  the  world.  To  a  great 
degree  the  intimate  relations  between  Great  Britain  and  the 
United  States  are  those  of  two  nations  of  rival  shop-keepers, 
their  petty  interests  and  paltry  quarrels. 

Next  to  foreign  rule,  the  most  disastrous  yoke  of  nations  is 
foreign  influence  ;  by  which  fetters  this  country, so  recently  inde- 
pendent, suffered  more  than  most  others ;  English,  French  and 
Spanish  regulation.  Natural  sympathies  and  colonial  venera- 
tion for  Great  Britain, shocked  by  the  revolution,  were  combated 
by  the  alliance  offensive  and  defensive  with  France,  w  ithout 
which  independence  was  scarcely  feasible,  and  by  Frencli  revo- 
lution following  American,  with  Frenchmen  like  La  Fayette  in 
ours,  and  Americans  like  Franklin  and  Jeflerson  in  theirs.  But 
French  political  sympathies  contended  in  vain  with  natural  En- 


CHAP.  XII.] 


FOREIGN    INFLUENCE, 


479 


glish  affections.    Serurier,  the  French  minister  at  Washington, 
when  war  was  declared,  was  an  isolated  stranger,  while  Foster, 
the  English  minister,  was  at  home  there,  surrounded  by  friends 
of  his  country.    The  act  of  Congress  in  April,  1812,  admitting 
Louisiana,  preliminary  to  the  war,  as  one  of  the  United  States, 
put  an  end  to  French  authority  in  America.    Jefferson,  accused 
of  being  under  French  influence,  with  the  prescience  of  genius, 
and  instinct  of  Americanism,  united  with  BonapariC,  reviled  as 
the  demon  who  bewitched  the  United  States  to  extinguish  that 
influence  forever  on  this  continent.    Jefferson,  after  several  years 
residence  at  the  capital  of  France,  which  is  in  many  respects  the 
metropolis  of  Europe,  returned  indeed  with  sympathies  for  the 
revolution  which  he  witnessed  there,  in  its  glorious  outbreak,  and 
preferences  for  French  social  enjoyments  and  convivial  refine- 
ments, which  nearly  all  prefer,  who  have  opportunities  to  com- 
pare them  with  those  of  other  countries,  not  excepting  the  Eng- 
lish, who  are  but  imitators  in  these  attractions  of  the  French  and 
Italians.     But  in  attachment  to  liberty,  Jefl'erson  and  his  disciples 
constantly  followed  and  exceeded,  in  love  of  equaliiy  they  tran- 
scended English  leaders.     No  American  more  strenuously  than 
he  as  Secretary  of  State,  repelled  the  licentious  follies  of  the  first 
French  revolutionary  minister  to  the  United  States,  Genet,  more 
openly  or  constantly  denounced  the  ambition  of  Napoleon,  by 
the  brilliancy  of  whose  splendid  career  Jefl'erson  was  never  daz- 
zled, or  reconciled  to  its  arbitrary  sway.    Jefferson's  infirmities 
were,  excessive  dread  of  Napoleon  and  of  war,  as  Napoleon's 
error  was,  contempt  for  an  Anglo-American  republic,  whose 
capacity  of  resistance  by  sea  to  England  he  never  understood. 
In  all  these  sentiments,  Madison,  more  reserved,  was  not  less 
fixed  than  Jefferson.     When  a  weak  and  ignorant  minister  of 
England  to  the  United  States,  Foster,  in  his  place  as  member  of 
Parliament,  stupidly  vouched  the  impeachment  of  American  gov- 
ernment for  subserviency  to  that  of  the  ruler  of  FitViice,  which 
was  the  burthen  of  English  manifestoes,  proclaimed  by  the  cabi- 
net and  press  of  England,  echoed  in  New  England,  and  reverbe- 
rated throughout  the  seaboard  of  the  United  States,  there  was 
not  a  member  of  any  branch  of  our  government,  executive,  legis- 
lative, or  judicial,  in  the  slightest  degree  guilty  of  the  charge.     It 
was  an  English  prejudice,  propagated  by  English  intfuence,  by 
numbers  of  intelligent  and  respectable  Americans,  imbued  with 
horror  at  a  French  influence  which  had  no  existence. 


r 


^.i.. 


f 
'i*.' 


480 


FOREIGN    INFLUENCE. 


tJTTNE,  1813. 


m:: 


m 


Of  Spanish  influence  or  sympathy  there  was  neve  •  any.  But 
Spanish  vicinage  and  subserviency  to  British  influence  were  an 
annoyance  before  the  war  of  1813,  which,  during  it,  became  in- 
sufferable. Tlie  campaign  of  1813  disclosed  and  that  of  1814 
fully  manifested,  that  Spanish  North  American  territories,  north  of 
Mexico,  were  footholds  for  English  interference,  dangerous  to 
Spain,  and  a  nuisance  which  the  United  States  must  either  abate 
or  remove  by  purchase,  as  was  afterwards  done  by  the  treaty  of 
Florida. 

The  war  of  1812  achieved  not  entiiely  the  extinction,  bdt  a 
great  reduction  of  British  influence  in  this  country;  of  which,  till 
then,  it  benumbed  the  efforts  and  retarded  the  progress.  Hos- 
tilities of  the  English  press  and  impost,  incessant  entnity  and 
abuse,  the  territorial  encroachments  and  maritime  inteiference  of 
Great  Britain,  since  that  war,  in  spite  of  vast  commercial  rela- 
tions and  seaport  affinities,  have  continually  still  further  enfeebled, 
by  counteraction,  liritish  influence  in  the  United  States,  which 
may  soon  be  left  with  all  their  pristine  American  love  of  English 
liberty,  and  much  greater  equality,  emancipated  from  detrimental 
obsequiousness. 

While  this  portion  of  a  sketch  of  the  second  war  of  kindred 
nations  is  closing,  European  intervention,  inconceivable  by  cither 
European  or  American  when  war  between  England  iind  France 
involved  this  distant  and  pacific  country  in  their  hostilities,  iuier- 
vention,  then  inconceivable,  has  thrust  its  intrigues  and  trans- 
actions  into  North  America.  In  strange,  unexampled,  incredible, 
and  portentous  concord  the  two  great  belligerents  of  Europe, 
who  for  many  centuries  disturbed  the  world  by  their  quarrels 
and  conquests,  have  united,  by  monstrous  alliance,  to  limit  the 
boundaries,  destroy  the  rights  of  their  former  American  establish- 
ments, and  circumscribe  the  territories  of  the  United  States. 
Speaking  with  authority,  the  prime  minister  of  France  has  pro- 
claimed a  balance  of  power  to  be  imposed  upon  North  America 
by  the  same  potentates,  who  inflicted  that  calamitous  doniinatiori 
upon  Portugal  and  Turkey,  and  other  subordinate  states  of  Eu- 
rope. Should  that  intimation  of  French  insolence  be  attempted, 
the  war  of  1812  will  have  prepared  the  United  States  lor  a  still 
more  serious  conflict,  in  which  both  French  and  English  influ- 
ence will  find  this  country  a  world  by  itself  to  expel  the  curse 
of  European  intermeddling  by  unanimous  repulsion. 


;TNE,  1813. 


CHAP.  XII.] 


PARLIAMENT. 


481 


tiy.  But 
were  an 
•came  in- 
tof  1814 
5,  north  of 
gerous  to 
her  abate 
I  treoly  of 

311,  bat  a 
which,  till 
!ss.    Hos- 
iinity  and 
1  ference  of 
jrcial  rela- 
CDlceblcd, 
Lies,  which 
of  EngUsh 
letrimental 


of  kindred 
e  by  either 
tid  France 
lities,  iuier- 
and  trans- 
incredible, 
[^{  Europe, 
l;r  quarrels 
limit  the 
establish- 
ed States, 
je  has  pro- 
h  America 
ominatiori 
tes  of  Eu- 
attempted, 
tor  a  still 
lish  influ- 
the  curse 


On  the  ISth  February,  1813,  Castlercagh  made  his  speech  in 
support  of  a  motion  for  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war  against 
Atnerica.  Denying  that  there  were  15,000  impressed  American 
seamen  among  the  145,000  seamen  in  the  British  navy,  he  con- 
fessed that  there  were  1700;  and  would  his  majesty's  govern- 
ment irritate  a  foreign  power  for  that  inconsiderable  number? 
He  commented  on  the  manifesto  of  the  9th  January  and  enforced 
its  allegation  of  French  influence  in  American  government.  His 
motion  was  for  an  humble  address  to  be  presented  to  his  royal 
highness  the  Prince  Regent,  to  acquaint  his  royal  highness  that 
we  have  taken  into  our  consideration  the  papers  laid  before  us 
by  his  royal  highness'  command,  relative  to  the  late  discussions 
with  the  govennnent  of  the  United  States  of  America:  that 
whilst  we  deeply  regret  the  failure  of  the  endeavours  of  his 
royal  highness  to  preserve  the  relations  of  peace  and  amity  be- 
tween this  country  and  the  United  States,  we  entirely  approve 
of  the  resistance  which  had  been  opposed  by  his  royal  highness, 
to  the  unjustifiable  pretensions  of  the  American  government, 
being  satisfied  that  those  pretensions  could  not  be  admitted 
without  surrendering  some  of  the  most  ancient,  undoubted  and 
important  rights  of  the  British  empire;  and  impressed  as  we  are 
with  these  sentiments,  and  fully  convinced  of  the  justice  of  the 
war  in  which  his  majesty  has  been  compelled  to  engage,  his 
royal  highness  may  rely  on  our  most  zealous  and  cordial  support, 
in  every  measure  which  may  be  necessary  for  prosecuting  the 
war  with  vigour,  and  for  bringing  it  to  a  safe  and  honourable 
termination. 

Mr.  Alexander  Baring  denied  Lord  Castlereagf!*s  assertion 
that  the  Atnerican  declaration  of  war  had  connection  with  the 
state  of  France  or  Russia,  and  appealed  to  Mr.  Foster,  the  late 
ambassador  in  that  country,  then  silting  in  the  House,  whether 
earlier  repeal  of  the  orders  in  council  would  not  have  prevented 
the  war.  Mr.  Fo.ster  betrayed,  by  his  answer,  his  total  igno- 
rance of  the  country  it  was  his  mission  to  comprehend.  Repeal 
of  the  orders  in  council  would  not  have  prevented  war.  The 
government  of  the  United  States  was  not  sufficiently  master  of 
the  Congress  to  be  able  to  do  what  it  thought  most  beneficial 
for  the  country.  Mr.  Foster  could  not  agree  with  Mr.  Baring 
that  there  was  no  party  in  America  friendly  to  France.  The 
revolution  had  made  a  strong  impression  there 

VOL.  I. — 41 


^ , 


::.'.' Ill 


And  although 


482 


PARLIAMENT. 


[FEB.,  1813 


''4.  ■ 


f>*£ 


m 


I 


the  subsequent  turn  of  events  miglit  have  detached  the  bet- 
ter part  from  them,  they  were  yet  a  powerful  party.  There 
was  also  an  anti-Anglican  party,  who  took  every  opportunity 
to  foment  animosity  against  Great  Britain.  There  were  no 
fewer  than  six  united  Irishmen  in  Congress,  distinguished  by 
their  inveterate  hostility  to  England.  The  war  was  carried  in 
Congress  by  that  rancorous  faction  against  the  English,  who 
persuaded  others  to  join  them  through,  fear  that  a  ditlbrcnce  might 
break  up  the  democratic  party:  and  in  the  Senate  the  war  mea- 
sure was  carried  by  the  opponents  of  government,  who  were 
desirous  of  making  it  unpopular. 

By  such  misconception  of  this  country  was  English  prejudice 
confirmed  by  a  weak  envoy  misled  by  American  disalloction. 
The  anti- Anglican  party  Foster  denounced  to  Parliament  was 
that  of  Jefferson,  Madison,  Macon,  Clay,  Gerry,  Lowndes — in 
a  word,  the  agricultural  republican  p  -y  was  the  faction  of 
United  Irishmen,  into  whom  silly  Englishmen  converted  all  Ame- 
ricans not  English  in  their  inclinations.  War  was  the  result  of 
that  blind  misconception.  When  declared,  its  successes  would 
not  have  been  deferred  but  for  the  prevalence  of  English  preju- 
dice in  too  many  parts  of  the  United  States.  It  is  not  to  disprove 
the  alleged  existence  of  French  intluence,  but  to  show  this  En- 
glish error,  as  part  of  the  history  of  that  day,  that  American 
adoption  of  an  English  calumny  must  be  dwelt  upon.  Mr. 
Baring  was  the  only  member  of  Parliament  to  gainsay  it.  In 
the  House  of  Lords  Earl  Bathurst  repeated  Lord  ('astlereagh'.s 
movement,  where  it  passed  without  opposition.  In  the  Com- 
mons Ponsonby  and  Whitbread,  Whig  'eaders,  but  faintly  denied 
what  Croker  and  Canning  strongly  reiterated.  Canning  par- 
ticularly, in  a  long  and  eloquent  speech,  frequently  greeted  with 
cheers,  renewed  this  American  disparagement :  the  topic  on  which 
he  principally  bestowed  his  eloquence  being  invective  against  the 
American  government,  for  having  taken  the  time  when  Great 
Britain  was  deeply  engaged  in  the  glorious  struggle  for  the  eman- 
cipation of  Europe  from  tyranny,  to  impede  her  exertions  and 
league  America  with  the  oppressor. 

These  were  sentiments  and  prejudices  natural  and  venial, 
however  mistaken,  in  Englishmen.  It  was  American  misfortune 
and  disgrace  that  to  so  great  an  extent  they  prevailed  in  the  United 
States;  in  New  England,  especially,  where  they  were  the  common 


r 


CHAP.  XII.] 


MASSACHUSKTTS. 


483 


political  and  too  mucl)  of  the  religions  belief.  Governor  Strong's 
message  on  the  2()tli  May,  ISK'J,  to  tlic  legislature  of  Massachu- 
setts, brought  all  the  caur-es  of  war  into  review,  arguing  each  one 
of  them  in  favour  of  Great  Britain.  "Although,"  said  this  mes- 
sage, "  in  proportion  to  her  maritime  means  of  annoyance,  wc 
had  suftl-red  nnich  greater  losses  from  France  than  England,  has 
not  our  language  to  France  been  mild  and  conciliatory,  while  to 
England  we  have  indulged  in  offensive  reproaches  and  unde- 
served asperity .'  Are  wo  encouraged  by  the  moral  qualities  of 
the  French  government  to  take  part  in  its  wars  ?  Should  we 
cultivate  the  friendship  of  France  because  she  can  do  us  more 
injury  than  England,  or  because  her  manners,  religion,  or  policy 
is  more  congenial  to  ours  ?  In  our  embarrassed  and  alarming 
situation,  it  is  indeed  a  very  favotirable  circumstam^e,  that  the 
people  have  so  very  generally  expressed  their  aversion  to  a  French 
alliance.  Such  an  alliance  would  be  the  greatest  calamity,  and 
must  produce  the  most  fatal  effects.  In  claims  liable  to  the  least 
doubt,  the  claims  even  of  an  enemy  sliould  be  im{)artially  exa- 
mined. If  we  discover  that  our  opinions  or  measures  have  been 
erroneous,  we  have  the  strongest  motives,  both  from  interest  and 
duty,  to  relinquish  them." 

To  this  message  from  the  governor  a  committee  of  both 
Houses  of  the  legislature  of  Massachusetts,  on  the  15th  June, 
1813,  responded  that  it  was  not  to  be  expected  that  a  moral  and 
Christian  people  should  contribute  their  aid  in  the  prosecution  of 
an  offensive  war,  without  the  fullest  evidence  of  its  justice  and 
necessity.  They  could  not  but  recollect  whatever  the  pretences 
of  the  Emperor  of  France  may  have  been,  pretences  which  have 
uniformly  preceded  and  accompanied  the  most  violent  acts  of 
injustice,  that  he  Wiis  the  sole  authority  of  a  system  calculated 
and  intended  to  break  down  neutral  commerce,  with  a  view  to 
destroy  the  opulence  and  cripple  the  power  of  a  rival.  We 
arc  persuaded  the  United  States,  by  a  firm  and  dignified  yet 
pacific  resistance  to  the  French  decrees,  might  have  prevented 
the  recurrence  of  any  retaliatory  measures  not  intended  to  injure 
us  ;  and  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  France  merited,  from  our 
government,  a  much  higher  tone  of  remonstrance  and  a  more 
decided  opposition.  After  once  more  retouching  the  whole 
subject  of  the  French  decrees  and  British  orders,  this  remon- 
strance denounced  the  war  as  improper,  impolitic,  and  unjust. 


I- 

*  ■ 
"I 


484 


MASSACHUSKTTS. 


[Jl'NK,  1813. 


m 


KA-  ■ 


While  the  oppressoil  nations  of  Europe  arc  making  a  tnagnani- 
nious  and  glorious  cHort  against  tho  conunou  enemy  of  frco 
states,  we  alone,  the  descendants  of  the  pilgrims,  sworn  foes  to 
civil  and  religious  slavery,  co-operate  with  tlie  oppressor  to  bind 
other  nations  in  his  chains,  and  divert  the  forces  of  one  of  his 
enemies  from  the  mighty  conflict.  Were  not  the  territories  of 
the  United  States  sulliciently  extensive  before  the  annexation 
of  Louisiana,  the  projected  reduction  of  Canada,  and  seizure 
of  West  Florida?  Already  have  wo  witnessed  the  admis- 
sion of  a  state,  beyond  the  territorial  limits  of  the  I'liited 
States,  peopled  by  inhabitants  whoso  habits,  language,  religion 
and  laws  are  repugnant  to  the  genius  of  our  government,  in 
violation  of  the  rights  and  interests  of  some  of  the  parties  to 
our  national  compact.  The  hardy  people  of  the  north  stood  in 
no  need  of  the  aid  of  the  south  to  protect  them  in  their  liberti(!s. 
If  the  war  into  which  we  have  been  rashly  plunged  was  under- 
taken to  appease  the  resentment  or  secure  the  favour  of  Franco, 
deep  and  humiliating  must  be  our  disappointment.  For, 
although  the  emperor  is  lavish  in  his  professions,  yet  no  repara- 
tion lias  been  made  or  offered  for  the  many  outrages,  indignities 
and  insults  lie  lias  inflicted  on  our  government,  nor  for  tlie  un- 
numbered millions  of  which  he  has  plundered  our  citizens. 
When  we  consider  the  mysterious  policy  which  has  veiled  the 
correspondence  of  the  two  governments  from  our  view,  and  that 
in  many  instances  the  most  important  measures  of  our  govern- 
ment have  been  anticipated  at  Paris  long  before  they  were  known 
to  the  American  people,  we  cannot  conceal  our  anxiety  and 
alarm  for  our  preservation  from  all  connection  with  the  common 
enemy  of  civil  liberty. 

In  the  before-mentioned  speech  of  Mr.  Otis  at  the  public 
entertainment  held  to  rejoice  in  the  Russian  victories,  the  same 
strain  of  unworthy  imputation  against  the  American  govern- 
ment was  indulged.  Wo  have  nearly  been  victims,  said  that 
gentleman,  to  the  delirium  by  which  the  fairest  portion  of 
the  globe  has  been  reduced  lo  chains  and  tears.  The  his- 
tory of  our  government  for  several  years  has  exhibited  a 
coincidence  in  the  measures  and  a  conformity  to  the  plans 
of  Napoleon  too  plain  to  be  mislalcen.  It  will  not  be  very 
easy  to  specify  any  measure  calculated  to  promote  his  views, 
which,  according  to  our  means  and  circumstances,  we  have  not 


t'llAl'.  MI.] 


HlirriSlI     INKLUKNCE. 


486 


ndopfod,  VVo  have  sacrificed  our  resources  by  embracing  his 
coiilinoulal  system,  aiid  cxchaiigiN)  x  stato  of  unprecedented 
prosperity  (or  lliat  of  voluntary  and  ruinous  war.  It  is  of  second- 
ary consequence  now  to  ascertain  whether  our  unhappy  condi- 
dition  has  arisen  from  obedience  to  his  suggestions,  fear  of  his 
power,  sympathy  in  his  policy,  hatred  of  liis  rival,  or  a  mere 
respect  for  his  exam|)lo.  Tlx;  tendency  to  a  close  coiniection  in 
the  event  of  his  success  was  irresistible,  and  in  such  a  connec- 
tion it  is  but  too  probable  that  our  domestic  peace  and  national 
umon  would  have  met  their  fate. 

By  false  and  preposterous  imputations  EngUsh  influence  in- 
oculated many  of  the  most  intelligent  people  of  New  England, 
with  absurd  apprehensions  of  French  influence.  On  the  day 
that  the  legislative  answer  to  the  governor's  message  was  adopted, 
ITith  of  Juno,  I8i;j,  Mr.  Quincy's  resolution  was  also  adopted 
against  rejoicing  for  naval  victories.  Without  treason  b^  armed 
insurrection,  schemes  of  disunion  and  coercion  against  Madison's 
administration  were  rife.  Without  secret  correspondence  or  un- 
derstanding, the  intluence  of  England  was  as  strong  in  Boston 
and  some  other  parts  of  New  England,  as  it  was  in  Scotland, 
stronger  than  it  was  in  Ireland,  so  far  as  hostile  feeling  to  France, 
and  everything  but  liostile  opposition  to  Madison's  administra- 
tion as  connected  with  France.  There  was  at  least  sympathetic 
alliance,  otfensivc  and  defensive,  between  England  and  parts  of 
New  England.  At  the  same  liirie  illegal  connnercial  intercourse 
with  Halifax  and  other  adjacent  Urilish  places,  was  as  incessant 
as  cupidity  combined  with  disaffection  could  render  it.  That 
was  an  offence  of  long  standing.  When  restrictive  commercial 
measures  were  attempted  by  Jefferson  to  prevent  war,  they 
pressed  severely  on  Eastern  commerce  and  were  evaded  and 
resisted  systematically,  and  almost  universally.  Mr.  Otis  and 
other  eminent  lawyers  openly  proclaimed  the  right  of  juries  to 
defeat  the  efforts  of  government  to  enforce  that  system :  so  that 
when  war  at  last  followed  it,  the  inhabitants  of  New  England 
had  been  trained  to  insubordination,  which  was  easily  carried  to 
treasonable  intercourse  with  the  enemy,  when  war  succeeded 
embargo.  During  all  that  time,  as  the  maritime  injustice  of 
France  was  as  extensive  as  the  limited  means  of  that  empire, 
resistance  to  the  French  ruler,  and  Madison  his  American  pre- 

41* 


486 


HRITIsn    INFLUENCE. 


[AriUL,  1813. 


It 


r 


feet,  was  a  cry  naturally  raised  in  London,  and  repeated  in 
Boston. 

Opposition  under  British  iiiniience  adopted  every  English  sen- 
timent. Wlien  the  Russian  mediation  was  made  pnhiic,  its  ex- 
istence was  denied.  It  was  said  to  be  a  contrivance  of  Maihson 
to  Ibrni  an  open  alliance  witli  Bonaparte.  Mr.  Jiayard,  one  of 
tiieir  own  party,  apprised  of  the  nature  of  his  errand,  was  coin- 
missioned  to  make  peace  :  yet  the  violent  opponents  of  war  or  of 
peace  on  any  but  England's  own  terms,  declared  that  both  he  and 
Mr.  Gallatin  were  to  wait  on  Napoleon  at  Prague,  and  receive  his 
orders.  They  were  mere  emissaries  of  that  falling  despot,  whom 
the  Emperor  of  Russia  lir.d  never  invited  to  Europe,  and  would 
never  receive.  At  the  same  time  that  English  journals  published 
the  refusal  of  Great  Britain  to  submit  her  rights  to  any  foreign 
mediation,  American  newspapers  declared  that  tlie  whole  con- 
trivance of  the  Russian  mediation  was  a  trick  to  prolong  the  ex- 
istence of  Madison's  power,  which  was  falling  with  that  of  the 
ruler  of  France.  In  vain  was  it  obvious  that  the  Russian  media- 
tion was  accepted  by  Madison,  without  any  communication  with 
Fiance.  The  successes  of  the  coalition  in  Europe,  and  disasters 
of  our  Canadian  warfare,  had  so  excited  both  Englishmen  and 
Americans  who  were  their  instruments,  that  both  deprecated 
even  peace,  unless  the  United  States  should  b(!  chastised  for  their 
connection  with  Bonaparte.  Those  who  identified  their  country 
with  its  government,  set  no  bounds  to  opposition  to  both,  save 
only  not  actually  taking  up  arms  against  cither.  Twenty  years 
of  bloody  and  bitter,  till  then  alarming,  all  at  once  amazingly 
triumphant  warfare  with  France,  had  not  implanted  in  English 
bosoms  more  implacable  animosity  to  thai  country,  than  their 
intluence  imparted  to  this,  in  tne  counting  iiouses,  the  bar,  the 
press  and  the  pulpits  of  New  England,  denouncing  French  iii- 
lluence. 

Imbued  with  these  narrow  and  violent  sectional  prejudices, 
Mr.  Webster  went  from  New  Hampshire  to  take  his  seat  in  Con- 
gress: too  wary,  if  not  too  wise  to  proclaim,  but  charged  to 
represent  them  at  the  seat  of  government ;  one  of  the  many  well- 
intbrmed  and  not  ill-disposed  Americans,  whose  education,  im- 
pressions and  ideas  were  exclusively  English  ;  who  knew  no  other 
language,  learning,  commerce,  law  or  power  but  tliose  of  Great 
Britain  j  and  under  that  overweening  influence  deprecated  and 


.^» 


CHAP.  XII.]         MU.    WEBSTER'S     RESOLUTION  .S  . 


487 


denounced  as  luinatural,  and  an  American  subserviency  to 
French  influence,  the  independent  patriotism  wiiich  Franklin, 
Jeflerson,  and  Washington  inculcated.  Mr.  Webster  left  home 
to  signalize  his  first  appearance  in  Congress,  by  exposure  of 
the  French  influence  which  regulated  Madison's  administration 
and  caused  the  war.  A  few  days  after  he  took  his  seat,  on 
the  day  when  Eppcs  reported  the  tax  bills,  the  10th  of  June, 
1813,  Mr.  Webster  moved  five  resolutions,  accusing  our  govern- 
ment of  collusion  with  tliat  of  France,  in  certain  fraudul(Mit  or 
negligent  conduct  of  the  latter  as  to  its  alleged  revocation  of  the 
Berlin  and  Milan  decrees,  which  was  said  to  have  produced  our 
declaration  of  war.  It  would  be  useless,  if  practicable  now,  to 
review  for  any  satisfactory  explanation,  the  controversy  between 
England  and  France,  on  this  the  great  question  of  that  day. — 
Granting  that  the  French  govermnent  was  uncandid  and  even 
deceptive,  which  was  the  English  averment,  ours  was  uniformly 
and  fastidiously  shy  of  all  connection  with  it;  more  so  than 
became  the  interest  of  the  United  States.  Madison  distrusted 
Napoleon  as  much  as  Mr.  Otis  or  Mr.  Webster  could.  The 
second  term  of  Jeflerson's  presidency  had  been  a  period  of  con- 
tinual quarrel  with  the  Emperor  of  the  French,  from  the  time 
that  France  and  England,  in  1805,  began  their  vexations  of 
American  conmiercc.  General  Armstrong  at  Paris,  had  boldly 
and  to  the  emperor  offensively,  presented  Jeflerson's  strong  com- 
plaints. When  Madison  succeeded  to  Jefferson's  annoyances 
and  sentiments  in  that  respect,  and  Joel  IJarlow  to  Armstrong,  as 
American  minister  in  France,  there  was  no  cessation  of  diplo- 
matic hostilities,  if  not  an  aggravation  of  them.  And  unless 
Madison  could  be  made  responsible  for  Napoleon's  ignorance  of 
or  double  dealing  with  America,  nothing  but  English  prejudice 
against  him  could  implicate  us  m  it.  In  Massachusetts,  vitupe- 
ration of  Madison,  as  Napoleon's  tool,  was  easy:  for  the  prepon- 
derance of  public  prejudice  was  such,  that  any  loose  or  unfounded 
accusation  was  acceptable  there.  But  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives at  Washington,  it  was  necessary  to  confront  a  majority 
that  knew  better,  and  an  execu  ve  fortified  with  the  truth.  Mr. 
Webster's  resolutions,  therefore,  like  that  gentleman's  public  acts 
and  speeches,  were  unexceptionably  guarded  in  assertion.  The 
short  speech  with  which  he  prefaced  them,  was  decorous  and 
abstemious ;  no  assertion  was  ventured  by  either  the  speech  or  the 


4SS 


WEBSTER'S     RESOLUTIONS. 


[JUNE,  1S13. 


miy^' 


ULU: 


'Ja-'>" 


resolutions  of  wliat  at  Hoston  and  Portsmouth  miglit  be  said 
without  hesitation.  Even  discussion  was  waived:  all  he  wanted 
was  inquiry,  hi  a  short  and  inofl'ensive  preface  he  merely  said 
that  no  repeal  of  the  P'rench  decree  appeared  till  after  our 
declaration  of  war:  if  issued  before,  it  had  laid  dormant,  mere 
bnitum  fulinen.  Tiie  whole  matter  was  involved  in  doubt; 
and  he  moved  his  resolves  to  shed  light  on  the  transaction,  in  the 
discharge  of  what  he  deemed  a  duty  to  his  constituents  and  to 
the  country.  Mr.  Grosvenor  called  for  the  yeas  and  nays  on 
the  question  of  consideration,  which  were  122  to  28,  most  of  the 
war  party  voting  for  them,  with  all  its  opponents.  Mr.  IJibb, 
not  objecting  to  them,  moved  to  lay  them  on  the  table,  which 
was  done. 

On  the  Ifith  June,  the  resolutions,  at  Mr.  Webster's  instance, 
were  debated,  and  for  several  days  after,  b^  Mr.  Grosvenor,  Mr. 
Oakley,  Mr.  Hanson,  Mr.  Sheffey,  Mr.  Shipherd,  Mr.  Gaston, 
and  Mr.  Morris  Miller,  who  attacked  the  administration,  which 
was  defended  by  Mr.  Calhoun,  Mr.  P'isk,  (of  New  York,)  Mr. 
Sharp,  Mr.  Yancey,  Mr.  Farrow,  and  Mr.  Bibb.  The  debate 
was,  as  usual  on  such  occasions,  elaborate  and  acrimonious. 
Mr.  Grosvenor  particularly,  spoke  harshly  of  the  executive ;  Mr. 
Oakley  and  Mr.  Gaston,  with  ability  and  force :  Mr.  Hanson 
with  fierce  invective.  Mr.  Sharp,  who  was  afterwards  assas- 
sinated in  the  Beauchamp  nmrders  of  Kentucky,  was  an  elo- 
quent young  man  and  a  ready  debater ;  Mr.  Calhoun,  then 
chairman  of  the  committee  of  foreign  aflairs,  argued  with  a 
rapid  and  masterly  dialectic  seldom  surpassed. 

He  and  Mr.  Oakley  I  believe,  are  the  only  survivors  who  took 
part  in  that  conflict,  the  most  inipressive  suggestion  of  which  now 
is  the  vain  and  transient  nature  of  such  party  dissensions.  The 
question  of  French  influence  in  the  United  States,  which  then  agi- 
tated the  country,  is  hardly  credible  to  this  generation  as  a  chief 
controversy  with  that.  On  the  21st  June,  Mr.  Bibb  said  tliat, 
while  time  liad  not  been  lost  in  that  discussion,  yet,  as  it  inter- 
fered with  the  tax  bills  then  ready,  he  should  move  to  go  into 
committee  upon  them  next  day,  which  Mr.  Calhoun  also  urged 
as  much  more  important  than  Mr.  Webster's  resolutions.  After 
Mr.  Boiling  Robertson,  afterwards  Governor  of  Louisiana,  had 
therefore  assigned  at  large  his  reasons  for  voting  for,  while  he 
disapproved  them,  the  questions  on  each  were  taken,  and  they 


CIIAl .  Xli.) 


MR.    CALHOUN'S     RKPORT. 


489 


were  adopted  by  large  majorities  ;  all  of  their,  with  most  of  our 
party  voting  for  them,  ayes  about  130  to  25  or  30  nays.  Being 
referred  to  the  committee  on  foreign  affairs,  (of  which  I  was  a 
member,)  next  day  the  chairman,  Mr.  Calhoun,  reported  that 
after  examining  the  message  and  documents  with  all  the  atlention 
their  importance  demanded,  they  furnished  strong  additional  proof 
of  the  justice  and  necessity  of  the  war,  and  powerful  motives 
for  the  steady  and  vigorous  prosecution  of  it,  as  the  surest  means 
of  a  safe  and  honourable  peace.  It  can  now  no  longer  be 
doubted,  that  it  was  the  pressure  of  our  measures,  combined 
with  the  determination  of  Congress  to  redress  our  wrongs  by 
arms,  and  not  the  repeal  of  the  French  decrees,  ihat  broke  down 
the  orders  in  council,  that  dangerous  system  of  monopoly,  by 
which  we  were,  as  to  our  commerce,  in  fact  re-colonized.  As  to 
the  conduct  of  the  excciUive,  the  language  of  the  resolutions, 
and  the  motives  avowed  by  their  supporters,  leave  no  alternative 
but  to  express  sentiments  of  approbation  or  censure  by  the 
House ;  and  upon  a  full  investigation  of  that  conduct  in  relation 
to  Great  Britain  and  France,  as  disclosed  in  the  message  and 
documents,  the  committee  were  of  opinion  that  a  just  course 
had  been  pursued  towards  both  nations,  and  in  no  instance  had 
the  dignity,  interests  or  honour  of  the  United  States  been  com- 
promited  ;  wherefore  they  recommended  the  adoption  of  a  reso- 
lution, that  the  conduct  of  the  executive,  in  relation  to  the  various 
subjects  referred  to  it,  in  the  resolutions  of  the  21st  June,  1813, 
meets  with  the  approbation  of  the  House.  That  report  was 
referred  to  a  committee  of  the  whole,  and  made  the  order  for 
the  following  Thursday.  Mr.  Webster  and  John  Rhea  were 
appointed  the  committee,  to  present  the  resolutions  to  the  presi- 
dent, then,  as  formerly  mentioned,  confined  by  illness ;  still 
desirous  of  this  occasion  to  vindicate  himself  from  the  aspersion 
of  these  resolutions.  On  the  12th  July,  Mr.  Monroe's  answer 
was  brought  to  the  House,  of  which  5000  coj)ies  were  ordered 
to  be  printed.  On  the  20th  July,  Mr.  Calhoun,  desirous  of  still 
lurtlicr  discussion,  moved  that  the  House  go  into  committee  of 
the  whole  to  take  up  the  subject;  but  his  motion  failed  by  a 
majority,  mostly  adherents  of  the  admiiiistratioii,  of  74  to  68. 
The  subject  had  been  fully  discussed.  INIr.  Monroe's  answer 
was  conclusive.  Mr.  Webster  had  gone  away  on  leave  of 
absence.     The  business  of  the  session,  taxation,  had  already 


X5-i*^ 


490 


HANSON'S    RESOLUTIONS, 


[DEC,  1S13. 


py* 


been,  for  several  days,  interrupted  by  debate  on  these  resolutions. 
Their  mover  and  his  friends  had  enjoyed  every  opportunity,  oi' 
wliich  Mr.  Webster  had  not  availed  himself,  to  substantiate  them. 
Numerous  printed  speeches  and  the  secretary's  report  exhausted 
the  topic. 

No  greater  favour  can  be  dene  an  impeached  party  than  to  pro- 
voke him  to  full  opportunity  of  vindication.  This  favour  Mr. 
Webster  did  Mr.  Madison.  All  the  machinery  and  all  the  talents 
of  government,  convincing  speeches  and  official  reports,  the  calm 
and  persuasive  argument  of  Monroe,  who  had  great  experience 
and  excellent  ability  for  it,  the  wisdom  of  Madison,  with  the 
advice  of  his  counselors,  anonymous  but  cogent  views  evolved, 
semi-oificially,  through  the  National  Intelligencer,  were  all  put 
in  requisition,  combining  a  power  of  reaction  on  Mr.  Webster's 
resolves,  which  silenced  that  kind  of  attack.  Their  author  did 
not  attempt  to  maintain  it  on  the  floor  of  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives ;  but  got  leave  of  absence  and  went  honie  ;  struck 
with  the  difference  between  bold,  uncontradicted  assertion  of 
French  influence  at  Boston,  and  its  still  bolder  and  complete 
refutation  at  Washington.  Whatever  might  be  said  of  the  war, 
French  influence  was  not  one  of  its  causes. 

In  December,  1S13,  at  the  next  session  of  Congress,  Alexander 
Hanson,  editor  of  the  Federal  Republican,  one  of  the  most  violent 
newspapers  against  Madison,  renewed  Mr.  Webster's  attempt 
in  a  different  form,  but  in  effect  the  same  charge  of  subserviency 
to  France,  which  Mr.  Hanson  repeated  with  much  invective  on 
the  floor  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  by  resolutions  con- 
cerning a  letter  of  Tnrreau,  the  French  minister  in  this  country 
in  1S09.  Turreau,  one  of  the  French  republican  generals,  a  coarse 
soldier,  who  represented  the  French  empire  in  the  United  States 
for  several  years,  had  sent  to  Robert  Smith,  when  Secretary  of 
State,  an  offensive  letter,  which  the  French  minister  was  required 
to  withdraw.  The  letter,  insulting  enough  certainly,  proved  by  a 
tenour  of  complaints,  anything  but  harmony  between  France  and 
our  government,  which  for  five  years  preceding  1S09,  'J'urreaii 
complained,  had  so  conducted  itself  towards  that  of  France  as  not 
to  merit  the  advantages  of  a  liberal  commercial  convention.  The 
American  government  has  been  drawing  near  England  who  out- 
rages its  rights,  and  injuring  France,  who  favours  ihom.  It  per- 
sists in  considering  the  two  belligerents  as  doing  equal  injtistice  to 


CHAP.  XII.] 


TURREAL    S     LETTER. 


491 


.!■: 


American  riglits. 

wrongs  to  France  in  order  to  soften  those  of  England. 


There  is  a  general  disposition  to  attribute 

Part  of 

Turreau's  long  catalogue  of  grievances,  by  this  absurd  letter,  was 
complaint  of  American  submission  witliout  resistance  to  impress- 
ment, by  which  the  English  navy  was  replenished  with  sailors,  it 
said,  to  act  against  France  ;  it  charged,  too,  the  naturalization  laws 
of  the  United  States  with  seducing  French  mariners  to  leave  tlieir 
country  for  this.  Among  mmierous  instances  of  alleged  wrongs 
to  France,  the  French  minister  presented  freedom  of  the  American 
press  and  speech  as  intolerably  insulting :  that,  said  this  inde- 
cent burlesque  of  diplomatic  expostulation,  which  your  insufler- 
able  free  press  and  your  irresponsible  public  speakers  proclaim, 
not  only  of  the  emperor,  at  whose  instance  this  remonstrance 
is  not  made,  but  of  all  France,  whose  riglits  I  represent  and 
must  vindicate.  This  French  rhapsody  accused  .Tctferson's  ad- 
ministration of  placing  obstacles  in  the  way  of  reconciliation 
between  France  and  America.  It  was  throughout  as  remarka- 
ble a  proof  as  Madison  could  desire  of  his  more  than  freedom 
from  French  influence.  Madison's  administration,  tinctured 
with  British,  kept  far  from  French  influence,  which,  from  this 
letter  of  the  minister  of  Napoleon,  it  was  palpable  had  never 
had  the  slightest  existence,  while  that  of  England  prevailed  not- 
withstanding war. 

Within  a  few  months  of  the  discussion  provoked  by  Mr.  Web- 
ster's resolutions,  Lord  Castlereagh,  who  caused  them,  (not  by 
direct  or  criminal  communication,  but  by  overpowering  English 
influence  in  America,)  was  a  conqueror  in  the  French  capital, 
with  all  its  archives  in  his  grasp,  where  he  found  as  little  proof 
of  American  collusion  with  the  dethroned  emperor,  or  of  any 
other  French  .subserviency,  as  Mr.  Webster  himself  discovered, 
when  afterwards,  as  Secretary  of  Stale,  the  files  of  that  depart- 
ment at  Washington  were  in  his  hands,  to  ascertain  that  first 
mistake  of  his  young  statesmanship. 

Monroe's  report,  after  fully  exhibiting  the  case,  on  the  revoca- 
tion of  the  French  decrees  and  British  orders,  averred  that  the 
declaration  of  war  against  England  had  no  effect  on  the  relations 
of  the  United  States  with  France.  War  was  declared  without 
any  concert  or  communication  with  the  French  government ; 
produced  no  connection  or  understanding  with  it.  The  ostensible 
relations  were  the  true  and  only  ones  between  tlie  two  countries. 


492 


BRITISH    INFLUENCE. 


[1813. 


ft 


American  claims  for  French  spoliations  were  pursued  with 
energy. 

No  English  policy  or  American  servility  was  more  profound 
or  noxious  than  their  falsehood  adopted  here,  that  the  United 
Stales  made  war  on  England,  by  connivance  with  France.  En- 
glish and  American  authoritative  publications  abounded  with 
that  falsehood.  IJrock's  proclamation  against  Hull,  the  first  state 
j)aper  of  the  conflict,  intimated  that  it  had  been  agreed  between 
the  United  States  and  the  French  emperor,  that  Canada  should  be 
ceded  to  him  when  conquered  by  us.  That  prejudice  was  a  bond 
of  alliance  oH'ensivc  and  defensive  between  large  numbers  of  Ame- 
ricans and  the  English  government,  which  deprived  the  American 
government  of  all  amicable  understanding  with  a  nation  with 
which,  in  a  former  war,  the  United  States  sought  an  alliance  of- 
fensive and  defensive.  Brock's  proclamation  avowed  and  justified 
English  alliance  with  the  Indians,  while  it  reprobated  American 
alliance  with  France.  And  such  was  British  influence,  that  nu- 
merous and  respectable  Americans  implicitly  believed  in  the  right 
of  England  to  unite  with  the  savages,  while  they  utterly  denied 
ours  to  unite  with  the  French.  At  a  convention  of  delegates  from 
thirty-four  connties  of  New  York,  held  at  the  capitol,  in  Albany, 
on  the  17th  and  18th  of  September,  1812,  of  which  Jacob  Morris 
was  president,  and  William  Henderson,  secretary,  it  was  resolved. 

That  we  contemplate  with  abhorrence,  even  the  probability 
of  an  alliance  with  the  present  Emperor  of  France,  every  action 
of  whose  life  has  demonstrated  that  the  attainment,  by  any 
means,  of  universal  empire,  and  the  consequent  extinction  of 
every  vestige  of  freedom,  are  the  sole  objects  of  his  incessant, 
unbounded  and  remorseless  ambition.  His  arms,  with  the  spirit 
of  freemen,  we  might  openly  and  fearlessly  encounter ;  but  of 
his  secret  arts,  his  corrupting  influence,  we  entertain  a  dread  we 
can  neither  conquer  nor  conceal.  It  is,  therefore,  with  the  utmost 
distrust  and  alarm  that  we  regard  his  late  professions  of  attach- 
ment and  love  to  the  American  people,  fully  recollecting  that 
his  invariable  course  has  been  by  perfidious  offers  of  protection, 
by  deceitful  professions  of  friendship,  to  lull  his  intended  victims 
info  the  fatal  sleep  of  confidence  and  security,  during  which  the 
chains  of  despotism  are  silently  wound  round  and  riveted  on 
them. 

We  must  distinguish  between  American  sympathy  for  French 


[1813. 
pursued  with 

nore  profound 
lat  the  United 
France.    En- 
bounded  with 
l,the  first  state 
greed  between 
iiada  should  be 
lice  was  a  bond 
imbersolAme- 
d  the  American 
a  nation  with 
an  alliance  of- 
red  and  justified 
aatcd  American 
luence,  that  nu- 
3ved  in  the  right 
y  utterly  denied 
if  delegates  from 
Mtoljin  Albany, 
:h  Jacob  Morris 
,  it  was  resolved, 
the  probability 
ice,  every  action 
nment,  by  any 
It  extinction  of 
(f  his  incessant, 
s,  with  the  spirit 
counter;  but  of 
tain  a  dread  we 
with  the  utmost 
jsions  of  attach- 
ecoUecting  that 
rs  of  protection, 
ntended  victims 
iring  which  the 
and  riveted  on 

athy  for  French 


CHAP.  XII.] 


FRENCH    REPUBLIC. 


493 


freedom,  offspring  of  American,  and  French  influence  in  Ame- 
rica. When  Burgoy lie's  capture  at  Saratoga,  in  1777,  enabled 
Franklin  to  procure  the  first  and  best,  the  model  of  all  American 
treaties,  at  Versailles  in  1778,  when  Jefl'erson,  after  contributing 
by  his  wisdom  to  the  liberal  beginning  of  the  French  Revolution, 
as  La  Fayette,  and  many  other  Frenchmen  reinforced  by  their 
arms  the  consummation  of  the  American  Revolution,  which  might 
never  have  ended  as  it  did  without  their  reinforcement,  it  would 
have  been  unnatural  if  sympathy  for  French  emancipation  hud 
not  pervaded  the  United  States.  It  was  thought  indispensable 
even  in  England  to  subdue  that  sympathy  there  by  the  war,  which 
for  twenty  years  made  head  against  it.  Nearly  every  eminent 
man  in  the  United  States  was  the  open  advocate  of  the  French 
republic.  Long  after  the  worst  excesses  of  the  Parisian  mobs  and 
misrule,  after  the  king  and  queen,  with  thousands  of  noble  vic- 
tims had  fallen  by  the  guillotine,  sympathy  for  France  was  an 
American  sentiment.  Washington  and  Alexander  Hamilton, 
were  still  proud  of  their  titles  as  honorary  French  citizens.  After 
the  proclamation  of  neutrality  in  1793,  by  which  the  onerous 
terms  of  the  treaty  of  Versailles  were  infringed  by  so  just  a  man 
as  Washington,  after  the  first  French  revolutionary  minister  to 
this  country.  Genet,  had  disgusted  Jefferson  by  his  intolerable 
excesses  in  1792,  after  Jay's  treaty  of  1794  had  divided  parties 
on  French  and  English  influence  and  attachments,  when  Pick- 
ering, as  Secretary  of  State,  on  the  first  of  January,  1796,  pre- 
sented the  new  French  minister  Adet  to  President  Washington, 
his  cordial  and  enthusiastic  welcome  by  that  sedate  and  circum- 
spect magistrate,  indicated  the  still  strong  regard  universally 
cherished  for  France. 

Born,  sir,  said  Washington,  in  a  land  of  liberty;  having  early 
learned  its  value  ;  having  engaged  in  a  perilous  conflict  to 
defend  it ;  having,  in  a  word,  devoted  the  best  years  of  my  life 
to  secure  its  permanent  establishment  in  my  own  coui.tr-' ;  my 
anxious  recollections,  my  sympathetic  feelings,  and  my  best 
wishes  are  irresistibly  attracted,  whensoever,  in  any  country,  I 
sec  an  oppressed  nation  unfurl  the  banners  of  freedom.  But 
above  all,  the  events  of  the  French  Revolution  have  produced 
the  deepest  solicitude,  as  well  as  the  highest  admiration.  To 
call  your  nation  brave,  were  to  pronounce  but  common  praise. — 
Wonderful  people !  ages  to  come  will  read  with  astonishment  the 
VOL.  I. — 42 


a 

m 


494 


FRENCH    INTERCOURSE. 


[JUNE,  1812. 


,5  K-'i  ■*.'<■'• 


^*- 


history  of  your  brilliant  exploits.  I  rejoice  that  the  period  of 
your  toils  and  of  your  immense  sacrifices  is  approaching.  I  re- 
joice that  the  interesting  revolutionary  movements  of  so  many 
years  have  issued  in  the  formation  of  a  constitution,  designed  to 
give  permanency  to  the  great  object  for  which  you  have  con- 
tended. I  rejoice  that  liberty,  you  have  so  long  embraced  with 
enthusiasm,  liberty,  of  which  you  have  been  the  invincible  de- 
fenders, now  finds  an  asylum  in  the  bosom  of  a  regularly  organ- 
ized government ;  a  government,  which  being  formed  to  secure 
the  happiness  of  the  French  people,  corresponds  with  the  ardent 
wishes  of  my  heart,  while  it  gratifies  the  pride  of  every  citizen 
of  the  United  States,  by  its  resemblance  to  their  own.  On  these 
glorious  events,  sir,  accept  my  sincere  congratulations. 

In  delivering  to  you  these  sentiments,  I  express  not  my  own 
feelings  only,  but  those  of  my  fellow-citizens  in  relation  to  the 
commencement,  the  progress,  and  the  issue  of  the  French  Revolu- 
tion :  and  they  will  certainly  join  with  me  in  purest  wishes  to  the 
Supreme  Being,  that  the  citizens  of  our  sister  Republic,  our  mag- 
nanimous allies,  may  soon  enjoy  in  peace  that  liberty  which  they 
have  purchased  at  so  great  a  ^jrice,  and  all  the  happiness  that 
liberty  can  bestow. 

I  receive,  sir,  with  lively  sensibility,  the  symbol  of  the  triumphs, 
and  of  the  enfranchisements  of  your  nation,  the  colours  of  France, 
which  you  have  now  presented  to  the  United  States.  The  trans- 
action will  be  announced  to  Congress,  and  the  colours  will  be 
deposited  with  the  archives  of  the  United  States,  which  are  at 
once  the  evidence  and  the  memorials  of  their  freedom  and  inde- 
pendence. May  these  be  perpetual ;  and  may  the  friendship  of 
the  two  republics  be  commensurate  with  their  existence. 

Such  official  communion  bespoke  the  national  emotion  which 
the  harmonious  transactions  of  the  American  atid  French  Revo- 
lutions could  not  but  excite.  But  great  and  rapid  reaction  took 
place  in  this  country,  by  which  English  influence,  superadded 
to  the  madness  of  French  misconduct  towards  the  United  States, 
at  last  extinguished  nearly  every  feeling  of  amity  in  the  hostili- 
ties prosecuted  in  1798  and  1799,  till  terminated  by  the  treaty  of 
the  30th  September,  1800,  one  of  the  first  acts  of  Bonaparte's 
advent  to  power,  negotiated  by  his  brother  Joseph,  with  the 
American  envoys  Ellsworth,  Davie  and  Murray.  By  that  treaty 
cardinal  principles  were  revived,  as  first  settled  with  Franklin, 


Hit 


JUNE,  1812. 


CHAP.  Xll.] 


FRENCH    ODIUM. 


496 


period  of 
ing.  I  le- 
f  so  many 
lesigned  to 
have  con- 
raced  witli 
incible  de- 
arly organ- 
[1  to  secure 

the  ardent 
irery  citizen 
.    On  these 

lOt  my  own 
Ltion  to  the 
nch  Revoki- 
i^ishes  to  the 
lie,  our  mag- 
j  which  they 
ppiness  that 

he  triumphs, 
:s  of  France, 
The  trans- 
lurs  will  be 
vhich  are  at 
m  and  inde- 
riendship  of 
nee. 

lotion  which 
re  nch  Revo- 
eaction  took 
superadded 
Fnited  States, 
n  the  hostili- 
the  treaty  of 
Bonaparte's 
)h,  with  the 
iy  that  treaty 
ith  Franklin, 


at  Versailles,  in  1778:  free  ships  free  goods,  with  other  founda- 
tions of  iiiternntional  peace  and  maritime  freedom.  Soon  after 
by  Robert  Livingston  and  Monroe's  treaty  with  Bonaparte,  the 
United  Stales  acquired  from  him,  with  Louisiana,  the  cotton,  the 
sugar,  the  lead,  the  great  staples  of  American  pusperity  and 
union.  But  the  monstrous  belligerent  struggle  between  France 
and  England  provoked  controversies  with  both,  which  prevented 
all  approximation  to  France,  while  they  could  not  cubdue  the 
attachments  which  bound  this  country  to  England.  British  influ- 
ence transpired  from  every  American  pore,  and  easily  propagated 
antipathy  to  the  dictator  who  stifled  liberty  in  France.  Dread 
of  Bonaparte  became  a  general  and  intense  American  feeling. 
His  government  was  treated  as  an  usurpation,  while  England  was 
regarded  as  a  natural  ally,  whof^c  protection  was  needed  by  this 
ccmitry,  as  the  last  refuge  of  freedom,  the  bulwark  of  religion, 
the  only  hope  of  mankind.  After  Merry,  the  English  minister  in 
the  United  States,  with  Lord  Cornwallis,  by  the  treaty  of  Amiens, 
recognized  Napoleon  as  in  effect  the  monarch  of  France,  anti- 
pathy to  him  was  as  prevalent  and  more  pronounced  in  America 
tlian  in  La  Vendee.  Clergy,  bar,  merchants,  governors,  legisla- 
tures, judiciary  were,  in  1813,  fast  approaching  to  open  resistance 
to  the  war  against  England,  lest  it  should  involve  alliance  with 
France.  Miliiia  were  withheld  and  debauched,  'i'he  national 
administration  was  villified  as  what  they  were  called  in  England, 
pra'fects  of  Bonaparte.  County  meetings  were  helci  in  Massa- 
chusetts, resolving  that  the  payment  of  taxes  to  support  the  war 
should  be  stopped.  British  inlluenrr;  begot  the  cry  of  French 
induence  propagated  from  New  England  south  and  west  wher- 
ever that  indefatigable  portion  of  the  American  people  could  carry 
their  prejudice.  When  Benedict  Arnold  deserted  the  American 
army,  he  did  not  want  the  cunning  to  declare  tha.  he  left  Wash- 
ington and  Greene  because  they  were  under  French  influence. 
Wuh  nmch  less  reason  was  that  aspersion  repeated  by  the  peace 
party  in  1812  and  1S13.  Men  of  education,  good  repute,  rich, 
devout,  and  popular,  viruletit  with  rabid  disaftection  to  th3  war 
and  Madison's  administration,  rallied  to  Russian  and  to  English 
alliance,  denouncing  Fr(n'.ch  influence  which  had  no  existence. 

Nor  was  it  in  New  England  alone  that  English  influence  dis- 
armed the  wav  of  great  eflicacy.  The  error  of  Madison's  admi- 
nistration was  to  be  deterred  by  British  influence  in  America 


496 


FRENCH    co-operation. 


[JUNE,  1812. 


fei' 


|:,r^-. 


^1 


from  such  iindcrstamling  with  France  as  might  have  been  as 
important  in  1812  as  French  alhanco  was  in  1782.  Madison 
shrunk  from  what  the  Congress  of  the  UevoUilion  courted,  when 
FrankHn  went  to  Paris  to  suppUcate  aid  from  France.  While 
English  allies  in  America  were  savages,  with  all  their  barbarities, 
and  slaves  to  be  armed  in  dreadful  revolt,  American  government 
did  not  dare  solicit  the  co-operation  of  the  French  whose  fleets 
might  have  rendered  the  same  services  at  New  York  and  Halifax, 
in  1812,  which  those  of  the  King  of  France  rendered  at  New 
York  and  Yorktown  in  1782.  Such  was  the  servitude  of  mind, 
the  habitual  control  of  England  over  the  United  States,  till  her 
own  hostilities  broke  the  charm  in  repeated  wars,  and  forced 
her  otispring  to  superadd  moral  to  physical  independence.  Ma- 
dison's administration  dared  not  ask  the  Emperor  of  the  French, 
so  effectually  was  he  decried  by  England,  to  send  a  squadron 
of  ships  to  scour  the  coasts  of  America.  Three  thousand  French 
seamen  in  three  line-of-battle  ships,  in  June  or  July,  1812,  would 
have  found  the  American  coasts,  from  Halifax  to  Bermuda, 
without  any  English  naval  force  to  resist  such  a  squadron.  It 
was  easy  to  strike  an  early  blow  by  the  French  marine,  of 
which  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  consequences.  There  was 
no  necessity  for  the  much  deprecated  alliance  with  France,  or 
with  the  more  dreaded  ruler  of  the  French.  All  that  need  be 
done  was  for  the  American  minister  in  France  to  impress  upon 
him  the  palpable  advantage  of  s*'  ling  a  small  squadron  to  sweep 
the  western  Atlantic  from  the  iJay  of  Fundy  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  The  Engllsli  marine,  the  English  commerce,  possi- 
bly some  of  the  English  stations  and  islands  in  America,  were 
at  the  command  of  such  an  adventure.  As  soon  as  superior 
British  fleets  pursued  the  French,  the  refuge  and  protection  of 
American  ports  were  at  their  service.  If  Mr.  Barlow,  by 
Madison's  instructions,  instead  of  importuning  Napoleon  for 
treaties  of  indemnity  for  spoliation,  had  done  as  his  successor, 
Mr.  Crawford  did  for  Louis  the  Eighteenth,  postponed  such 
demands  till  a  more  convenient  moment,  and  impressed  the 
French  government  with  the  vital  importance  to  their  marine  of 
striking  the  fatal  blow  at  that  of  England,  which  the  coasts  of 
America  then  invited,  the  consequences  might  have  been  decisive 
of  the  wars  waging  both  in  Europe  and  America.  British  influ- 
ence, operating  through  party  opposition  on  the  American  admi- 


UNE,  1812. 

i  been  as 
Madison 
ted,  when 
J.  While 
arbarities, 
)vcrnment 
lose  fleets 
id  Halifax, 
d  at  New 

0  of  mind, 
tes,  till  her 
and  forced 
Slice.  Ma- 
he  French, 

1  squadron 
^iid  French 
812,  would 
I  Bermuda, 
uadron.     It 

marine,  of 
There  was 
France,  or 
lat  need  be 
ipress  upon 
on  to  sweep 
the  Gulf  of 
lerce,  possi- 
lerica,  were 
as  superior 
rolcctioii  of 
liarlow,  by 
apoleon  for 
IS  successor, 
poned   such 
pressed  the 
lir  marine  of 
he  coasts  of 
leen  decisive 
British  influ- 
erican  admi- 


CHAP.  Xll.] 


FRENCH    ERROR. 


497 


nistration,  forbade  the  attempt  or  suggestion  of  it.  Castlereagh's 
false  manifesto,  Foster's  absurd  calumny  in  Parliament,  Canning's 
invective,  repeated  in  America,  propagated  the  pjiiglish  prejudice 
of  French  influence  as  effectually  in  parts  of  this  country  as  in 
Great  IJritain.  The  American  government  was  deterred  from 
arrangements  which,  without  alliance  with  Franco,  would  have 
been  as  politic,  and  might  have  been  as  decisive  in  ISia  as  in 
17S3.  Tiie  ravings  of  the  pulpit,  the  threats  of  the  press,  the 
maudlin  eloquence  of  factious  festivals,  which  should  have  been 
defied,  and  might  have  been  despised,  alarmed  Madison's  admi- 
nistration froni  instructing  IJarlow  to  intimate  anything  like  what 
the  Congress  of  the  Revolution  sent  Franklin  to  beg.  Franklin 
entreated  alliance,  olFensive  and  defensive,  for  ever.  Barlow 
was  ordered  to  avoid  all  connection,  which  Mr.  Adams  assured 
Castlereagh  was  the  settled  policy  of  the  United  States,  made 
known  in  terms  as  strong  as  language  would  bear.  Yet  without 
entangling  alliance,  arrangements  advantageous  to  both  nations 
were  feasible.  When  it  was  believed  that  Mr.  Barlow  had  ne- 
gotiated a  favourable  treaty,  ICnglish  influence  broke  forth  in 
America,  in  the  apprehension,  disseminated  by  the  press,  of  secret 
articles  in  the  treaty,  by  which  ten  sail  of  the  line  and  some 
frigates  were  to  be  put  at  the  president's  disposal.  And,  his 
adherents  were  anxious  to  deny  and  disprove  the  calumny  ! 
During  the  hostilities  with  France  in  1799,  British  ports  gave 
refuge  to  American  ships  of  war,  American  merchant  ships  took 
British  convoy,  the  war  was  common  cause  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  against  the  French  Republic.  Plate 
was  gladly  accepted  by  the  captain  of  an  American  frigate  for 
capturing  a  French  frigate  when  voted  by  merchants  and  under- 
writers in  London,  hi  the  war  against  England,  French  assist- 
ance was  repudiated  with  horror. 

The  mistake  of  that  crisis  was  not  confined  to  British  influence 
•  11  American  councils.  The  bright  intelligence  guiding  the  coun- 
cils of  France,  overlooked  that  sure  occasion  of  striking  a  great 
blow  at  English  naval  supremacy.  If  the  French  emperor  had 
not  been  entirely  absorbed  by  preparations  for  transferring  his 
immense  warfare  from  Spain  to  Russia,  surrounded  as  he  was 
by  excellent  sea  oflicers,  it  was  impossible  for  him  and  them  not 
to  perceive  that  the  many  experienced  mariners  of  France,  Hol- 
land and  Italy,  all  united  under  the  French  empire,  had  before 

42* 


496 


TALLEYRAND. 


[JULY,  1812. 


tlictn  ill  America  a  theatre  lor  reviving  that  naval  power  wliich 
Great  Uritaiii  hud  crippled,  but  by  no  means  destroyed.  France 
had,  in  IWlii,  large  llccts,  well  manned  and  provided,  it.ady  lor 
sea,  in  many  sea-ports:  some  of  them  not  closely  blockaded  by 
tlic  English.  It  was  practicable  for  sullicient  sipiadrons  to  have 
made  good  their  way  to  America.  The  emperor  had  never  been 
inattentive  to  a  marine,  which,  though  uneipial  to  that  of  Great 
Uritain,  was,  with  those  of  Holland  and  Italy,  then  still  formida- 
ble. Hut  on  the  13lh  of  February,  1813,  an  order  to  the  minister 
of  marine,  Uecres,  directed  him  to  withdraw  12,000  men  from  the 
French  ships  in  port,  ready  for  sea,  and  march  them  as  soldiers 
to  German  battles,  thus  leaving  the  marine  without  the  faculty 
of  sea  service,  whicli  even  then  might  have  been  injurious  to 
England,  useful  to  France,  and  important  to  the  United  Slates. 
The  insular  power  which  combined  all  Europe,  except  Denmark, 
for  the  dethronement  of  the  ruler  of  France,  compelled  him  to 
strip  his  navy  for  the  final  struggle,  and  deprived  the  United 
Slates  of  the  co-operation  which,  if  the  French  navy  liad  been 
employed,  as  it  might  have  been,  might  have  waged  our  war, 
and  perhaps  ended  that  of  Euro[)e  otherwise  than  it  did  next 
year.  The  errors  of  Napoleon's  vast  genius  in  the  invasions  of 
Spain  and  Russia,  were  perhaps  not  more  fatal  than  his  failing 
to  see  the  importance  of  the  steamboat,  when  prolfered  by  Ful- 
ton, and  the  exposure  of  England  when  war  was  declared  by 
America. 

An  uncommon  nobleman,  Talleyrand — rarely  do  men  of  noble 
birth  and  luxurious  indulgence  display  the  constant  activity,  ad- 
dress and  success  wliich  marked  his  long  life  of  extraordinary 
eminence,  seldom  long  out  of  favour  with  any  of  the  many  anta- 
gonist governments  he  served — had  passed  some  time  as  an 
emigrant  in  the  United  States,  where  he  formed  impressions 
unfavourable  to  American  republicanism,  and  was  disgusted  at 
the  simplicity  of  manners  (certainly  much  out  of  .larmony  with 
his  loose  morals  and  voluptuous  habits)  and  free  institutions,  of 
which  he  was  an  innate  enemy.  It  has  been  supposed  that  he 
prejudiced  his  imperial  master,  the  first  consul  and  emperor, 
against  this  country.  For  it  is  hard  to  reconcile  Napoleon's  un- 
qu  tionab'e  superiority  of  capacity  to  perceive  whatever  would 
benefit  Fn  tice,  with  his  blindness  to  the  opportunity  which  the 
American  declaration  of  war  presented  for  a  French  blow  at  the 


ILY,  1812. 

cr  which 
France 
luudy  for 
kaded  by 
IS  to  have 
ever  been 
I  of  Great 

I  Ibrmida- 

10  mUiisier 

II  from  the 
as  soldiers 
he  taculiy 
ijurious  to 
ited  States. 
;  Deiinuirk, 
icd  hiiu  to 
the  Uiiiteil 
/  had  been 

11  our  war, 
it  did  next 
nvasious  of 
1  his  failing 
red  by  Ful- 
leclared  by 

icn  of  noble 
iclivity,  ad- 
traordinary 
many  anta- 
ime  as  an 
mpressions 
isgusled  at 
rmony  witli 
titulions,  of 
3sed  that  he 
id  emperor, 
joleon's  un- 
tever  would 
f  which  the 
blow  at  the 


CHAP.  Xll.] 


BARLOW'S    NEGOTIATIONS. 


499 


English  navy,  that  might  have  atoned  for  French  naval  defeats 
at  the  Nile  and  Trafalgai.  From  the  government,  the  public 
journals  or  the  people  of  the  United  States,  Napoleon  received 
neither  information  nor  encouragement.  But  if  his  usual  watch- 
fulness had  not  forsaken  him,  he  might  have  learned,  from  the 
English  newspapers,  that  not  long  before  ho  withdrew  twelve 
thousand  sailors  from  their  ships  to  be  marched  to  Germany,  the 
debate  on  Lord  Darnley's  motioti  in  the  House  of  Lords,  proved 
that  in  July,  1812,  there  were  but  one  English  line  of  battle  ship, 
and  five  frigates,  on  the  American  station. 

The  negotiations  between  the  United  States  and  France  were 
watched  withunworthysuspicions  of  French  influence  and  Ameri- 
can collusion.  Our  complaints  were  urged  with  querulotis  impor- 
tunity, and  listened  to  by  the  imperial  master  of  most  of  Europe 
without  umbrage,  and  answered  with  good  will.  Uut  Barlow's 
letter  of  the  28th  October,  1812,  that  "  if  there  was  any  intention 
of  coupling  commercial  arrangements  with  other  views  not  then 
brought  forward,  and  if  they  extended  beyond  the  simplicity  of 
commercial  interests  and  the  indemnities  we  claim,  I  shall  be  at 
no  loss  how  to  answer  them,"  was  hailed  by  most  of  the  war 
party  as  their  voice,  while  denoiuiced  and  discredited  by  the  other 
party  as  the  double  dealing  to  be  suspected  in  all  intercourse 
between  our  agents  and  those  of  the  hateful  enemy  of  all  man- 
kind. Napoleon  was  under  the  ban  of  British  malediction;  his 
alliance  was  dreaded;  his  overtures  would  have  been  rejected; 
his  good  will  was  not  desired. 

Monroe's  instructions  to  Barlow,  on  the  eve  of  his  departure  for 
France,  dated  2()th  July,  1811,  after  enjoining  demand  for  a  full 
explanation  of  the  niuch-contested  allegation  of  repeal  of  the  Ber- 
lin and  Milan  decrees,  complained  of  French  annoyance  as  con- 
trary to  the  usages  of  connuerce  between  friendly  nations;  the 
injustice  of  France  insisting  on  American  vessels  bringing  back 
return  cargoes  of  French  produce;  of  the  system  of  licenses; 
of  the  injury  done  to  American  coiamerce  by  French  influence 
exerted  against  it  in  Spain,  Holland  and  Naples ;  of  the  atrocity 
of  burning  our  vessels  at  sea ;  and  directed  Barlow  to  demand 
ii.demnities. 

In  another  letter  of  the  21st  November,  1811,  transmitting  the 
])resident's  message  to  Congress,  the  Secretary  of  State  repeated 
and  enfui'.cd  thet'.'  instructions  with  still  more  positive  injunc- 


h. 


600 


NEGOTIATIONS    WITH    FRANCE. 


[1812, 


if?   t'*f 


f^!^ 


i  '      "'/ 
'  * 'i   - 


tions.  Among  the  measures  to  support  the  attitude  taken  by  the 
United  States,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  a  law  will  pass,  said 
Monroe,  enabling  all  merchants  to  arm  their  vessels  in  self-de- 
lence. 

Mr.  Barlow  sailed  in  the  frigate  Constitution,  Captain  Hull, 
and  landed  at  Cherbourg,  the  8tli  September,  1811.  His  recep- 
tion was  flattering.  The  emperor  was  disposed,  as  his  minister, 
the  Duke  of  Bassano,  assured  Mr.  Barlow,  to  do  everything  he 
could  reasonably  ask,  to  maintain  a  good  understanding  between 
the  two  countries.  The  American  envoy  explained  all  his  views 
to  the  French  minister,  which  had  no  allusion  to  any  other  than 
commeicial  indemnities  and  maritime  peace.  Mr.  Barlow's 
views  of  commerce  were  new  to  Napoleon's  inquisitive  mind, 
engrossed  with  other  subjects.  Since  the  death  of  that  much 
abused  personage,  and  the  decline  of  prejudices  which  dethroned 
and  destroyed  him,  American  history  may  venture  to  expose  the 
weakness  which  rejected  assistance  from  France,  lest  it  should 
endanger  the  United  States.  Long  after  his  demise,  the  American 
claims  on  France  were  adjusted  for  a  sum  (five  millions),  which, 
if  expended  in  French  armaments  on  the  American  coast  in 
1812,  might  have  saved  the  United  States  a  much  larger  one. 
But  the  American  government,  accused  by  England  of  French 
subserviency,  did  not  dare  to  confront  British  inlluencc  by  such 
an  aid  from  France,  which,  even  if  prollered,  would  have  been 
refused. 

In  January,  1812,  Mr.  Barlow  sent  home,  by  the  frigate  Con- 
stitution, assurances  of  a  treaty  of  reciprocal  commerce,  of  which 
he  was  so  conlident  that  he  kept  the  sloop  of  war  Hornet,  to  take 
it.  Discussion  of  Russian  and  other  European  affairs  delayed 
the  negotiation,  in  the  French  capital,  of  our  complaints  to  the 
great  French  com:nander  in  the  midst  of  his  vast  preparations  for 
the  prodigious  campaign  of  Russia.  On  the  13tli  October,  1812, 
the  Duke  of  Bassano  invited  Mr.  Barlow  to  Wilna  to  conclude, 
without  further  delay,  arrangements  desirable  and  conformable 
to  the  amicable  views  of  both  governments.  Accepting  that  in- 
vitation, by  letter,  from  Paris,  the  28th  of  the  same  month,  Mr. 
Barlow  assured  his  government  of  his  confidence  that  the  propo- 
sition was  with  a  view  of  expediting  the  business.  There  might, 
indeed,  he  added,  be  an  intention  of  coupling  it  with  other  views 
not  yet  brouglit  forward.    If  so,  and  they  extend  to  objects  be- 


[1812. 

ken  by  the 
1  pass,  said 
>  in  self-de- 

ptain  Hull, 
His  recep- 
lis  minister, 
•rything  he 
iig  between 
,11  his  views 
T  Other  than 
:.  Barlow's 
sitive  mind, 
'  tliat  much 
h  dethroned 
)  expose  tlic 
St  it  should 
le  American 
ons),  which, 
an  coast  in 
I  larger  one. 
J  of  French 
lice  by  such 
I  have  been 

frigate  Con- 
ce,  of  which 
met,  to  take 
Airs  delayed 

uints  to  the 
)arations  for 
2tober,  1812, 
to  conclude, 
conformable 
)ting  that  iu- 

month,  INIr. 
It  the  propo- 
There  might, 

other  views 
»  objects  be- 


CHAP.  XII.] 


JOEL    BARLOW. 


501 


yond  the  simplicity  of  commercial  interest  and  the  indemnities 
we  claim,  I  shall  not  be  at  a  loss  how  to  answer  them,  were 
Barlow's  last  assurance  to  a  government  fearful  of  Napoleon. 
The  negotiation,  then  far  advanced  at  Paris  between  him  and 
the  Duke  of  Dalberg,  Mr.  Barlow  had  no  doubt  would  be  soon 
ripened  into  a  treaty  of  commerce  and  convention  of  indemnity. 
On  the  way  to  Wilna,  the  26th  December,  1812,  Joel  Barlow 
died  at  Czarnovitch,  in  Poland,  of  an  attack  of  fever,  which,  in 
the  winter  of  that  severe  climate,  carried  him  ott'  at  the  age  of 
fifty-four. 

Left,  by  Barlow's  death,  without  a  minister  in  France,  Ame- 
rican interests  there  were  almost  unrepresented  till  the  arrival  of 
his  successor,  William  H.  Crawford,  in  July,  181.3.  In  aimounc- 
ing  the  death  of  the  one  and  the  appointment  of  the  other  by  his 
message  to  Congress,  at  the  opening  of  the  special  session  in  May, 
1813,  the  president's  significant  language  complained  that  the 
French  government,  after  the  death  of  our  minister  there,  had 
taken  no  measures  for  bringing  the  depending  negotiations  to  a 
conclusion  through  their  representative  in  the  United  States, 
which  failure  added  to  delays  before  so  unreasonably  spun  out. 
Tlie  course  the  new  minister  will  pursue  was  prescribed  by  a 
steady  regard  to  the  true  interests  of  the  United  States,  "which 
equally  avoids  an  abandonment  of  their  just  demands,  and  a 
coimection  of  their  fortunes  with  the  systems  of  other  powers." 
Nothing  could  be  plainer  than  such  language  to  France,  England 
and  America.  If  alliance  with  France  had  been  asked  by  the 
French  minister,  it  would  have  met  with  peremptory  rejection. 
No  arrangement  or  understanding  for  consentaneous,  without 
combined,  action  at  sea  against  the  common  enemy  of  France 
and  the  United  States,  was  suggested.  Mr.  Barlow's  negotiations 
were  exclusively  commercial:  claims  for  indemnities  for  past 
wrongs  and  stipulations  for  future  security.  If  lie  had  lived,  or 
Napoleon  had  not  abdicated,  in  all  probability  Franklin's  treaty 
of  1778  would  have  been  substantially  renewed,  without  con- 
necting American  fortunes  with  those  of  France. 

Joel  Barlow  was  that  uncommon  American  of  early  time,  a 
Connecticut  democrat,  distinguished  by  his  literary  publications, 
having  written  several  tracts,  particularly  one  upon  the  privileged 
orders,  which  made  considerable  sensation  in  Europe.  A  warm 
adherent  of  the  French  Revolution,  he  resided  many  years  in 


t 

H??5  ! 


502 


WM,    H.    CRAWFORD. 


[JULY,  1813. 


.1*' 
Sim  >^ 


te;. 


^«*; 


If*;  ¥; 


Paris,  and  was  admitted,  as  several  other  eminent  Americans 
were,  among  them  Washington  anil  Hamilton,  to  the  honours  of 
French  nominal  citizensliip.  Returning  to  this  country,  with  a 
tbrtmie  acquired  in  France,  he  expended  a  liberal  part  oi"  it  in 
the  typographical  decorations  of  his  national  poem,  the  Colum- 
biad,  an  American  performance,  less  read  than  it  merits.  At 
his  residence,  Kalorama,  near  the  city  of  Washington,  he  was 
employed  collecting  materials  for  a  history  of  the  United  States, 
when  President  Madison  appointed  him  minister  to  France. 

Mr.  Crawford  sailed  on  his  mission,  as  Barlow's  successor,  in 
the  Argus,  brig  of  war,  Captain  Allen,  from  New  York,  the  ISth 
of  May,  1813:  arriving  in  France,  when  the  government  there 
was  transferred  from  the  capital,  to  distant  places  in  Germany, 
attending  the  great  conflicts  in  arms  and  by  negotiations  through- 
out that  year,  till  Napoleon's  first  abdication  in  April,  1814. 
Mr,  Crawford  assumed  the  responsibility  of  not  pressing  Ame- 
rican claims  under  such  circumstances;  and  like  Mr.  Harlow,  he 
had  no  instructions  for  other  purposes,  but  was  to  avoid  alliance. 
lie  was  a  man  of  large  stature,  six  feet  four  inches  tall,  and 
stout  in  proportion  ;  not  graceful  or  elegant,  but  of  kind  and  pre- 
possessing manners;  of  uncommon  decision  and  great  rectitude. 
Mr.  Macon's  laconic  character  of  him  was,  that  he  was  a  man 
who  could  say  no  ;  not  an  easy  task  for  statesmen.  Even  that 
superb  model  of  absolute  kings,  who  considered  himself  the  state, 
Louis  the  Fourteenth,  answered  suitors  by  the  gentle  circumlo- 
cution, nous  verrons,  we  will  see  about  it.  Like  many  Ame- 
rican statesmen,  Crawford  had  kept  a  school  for  subsistence  ;  and 
like  too  many,  had  killed  his  antagonist  in  a  duel,  a  resort  more 
fatal  than  in  other  countries,  either  from  less  perfect  civilization, 
or  greater  recklessness  of  life.  JNIr.  Crawford  was  the  last 
nominee  by  Congressional  caucus,  a  new  word  for  a  novel  con- 
trivance, to  provide  for  one  of  the  most  dillicult  American  sub- 
stitutions of  the  elective  principle,  for  that  of  divine  right  in  the 
choice  of  a  chief  magistrate.  With  Mr.  Crawford's  nomination, 
the  Congressional  caucus  expired  ;  under  those  blows  of  party 
opposition,  which  will  always  be  bestowed  upon  whatever  is 
proposed  by  one  party,  to  get  the  better  of  another  ;  and  has  been 
succeeded  by  another  less  responsible  contrivance.  He  had  served 
with  general  approbation  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  and 
as  Secretary  of  War,  and  as  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  under  difll- 


JULY,  1813. 

Americans 
lonours  of 
ly,  with  a 
art  of  it  in 
he  Colum- 
lerits.     At 
•u,  he  was 
itecl  States, 
ranee, 
nccessor, in 
ik,the  ISth 
ment  there 
1  Germany, 
lis  through- 
^pril,  1814. 
•ssing  Ame- 
Harlow,  he 
oid  alUance. 
ics  tall,  and 
ind  and  pre- 
at  rectitude, 
was  a  man 
Even  that 
f  the  state, 
e  circumlo- 
many  Amc- 
istencc ;  and 
resort  more 
oivilization, 
ras  the   last 
a  novel  con- 
uerican  sub- 
right  in  the 
nomination, 
ws  of  parly 
whatever  is 
md  has  been 
e  had  served 
States,  ami 
r,  under  difli- 


CHAP.  XII.] 


MR.     SERURIER. 


603 


cult  circumstances  in  Monroe's  administration.  Disappointed  of 
election  to  the  presidency,  for  which  he  had  many  excellent  friends, 
but  no  extensive  popularity,  and  retiring  to  Georgia,  he  was  elected 
by  the  legislature,  the  judge  of  r  circuit  court,  according  to  that 
peculiarity  of  American  republicanism,  which,  allowing  little  pay 
and  no  pension  for  civil  service,  reduces  unsuccessful  competitors 
for  high,place  to  the  stinted  support  of  inferior  situations. 

The  gentleman  whosncceeded  General  Turreau  in  the  French 
mission  at  Washington,  is  still  living,  a  type  of  tlie  vicissitudes 
of  his  government  during  the  present  century.  Mr.  Serurier  is 
a  nephew  of  the  French  marshal  of  that  name  who  served 
with  distinction  under  lionaparte  in  his  Italian  campaigns,  and 
was  afterwards  appointed  by  him  governor  of  the  Hospital  of 
Invalids,  in  which  the  remains  of  the  emperor  transported  by 
the  son  of  the  present  king  of  the  French,  from  the  Island  of  St. 
Helena,  have  been  latterly  deposited  with  great  pomp.  In  1814, 
at  the  capture  of  Paris  by  the  allied  armies,  Marshal  Serurier 
collected  the  14,000  stands  of  colours  taken  from  the  enemies  of 
France  and  displayed  in  that  institution,  committed  them  to  the 
flames,  and  threw  the  ashes  into  the  river  Seine.  His  nephew, 
Mr.  Serurier  came  to  this  country  not  long  before  the  war  of 
1812,  married  here  in  1813,  and  was  in  1814,  upon  the  downfall 
of  Napoleon,  the  only  French  foreign  minister  not  displaced.  On 
Napoleon's  short-lived  restoration,  during  the  hundred  days  in 
1815,  Mr.  Serurier  sint  in  a  cordial  but  unfortunate  adhesion  to 
his  old  master.  The  letter  was  received  by  the  minister  of 
Louis  the  Eighteenth,  once  more  reseated  upon  the  French 
throne.  Doomed  by  that  mischance  to  disgrace  and  poverty, 
Mr.  Serurier  returned  to  his  country,  where  lie  remained  during 
fifteen  years  in  retirement.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  the  Revolu- 
tion of  1830,  which  chose  Louis  Philippe  for  King  of  the  French, 
was  to  reinstate  Mr.  Serurier  in  his  American  mission,  from 
which,  after  some  years,  he  was  transferred  to  another  in  Europe 
and  finally  to  that  anomalous  aristocracy,  the  French  Chamber 
of  Peers,  and  a  title  without  fortune.  His  son,  born  in  Philadel- 
phia when  the  parents  were  there  in  distress,  is  now  a  viscount, 
and  Secretary  of  the  French  Legation  in  the  United  States. 

On  the  aoth  July,  1813,  the  president  sent,  by  Mr.  Graham,  a 
special  message  to  Congress,  recommending  an  embargo.  There 
was  reason  to  believe,  he  said,  that  the  enemy  intended  to  com- 


604 


EMBARGO, 


[JULY,  1813. 


Vi. 


17^ 


^t' 


bine  with  the  blockade  of  our  ports,  special  licenses  to  neutral 
vessels  or  British  vessels  in  neutral  disguises,  to  extract  such  ex- 
ports as  he  wanted,  while  our  commerce  remained  obstructed. 
The  enemy  had  invidiously  discriminated  between  different  ports 
of  the  United  States ;  by  all  which  means  the  pressure  of  war 
on  us  would  be  increased  and  diminished  on  the  enemy.     Tlie 
House  of  Representatives  went  into  secret  session,  with  closed 
doors,  upon  that  message,  which  was  referred  to  the  committee 
on  foreign   relations.      It  was  a  favourite  plan  with  the  exe- 
cutive, still  clinging  to  other  than  the  ordinary  enforcement  of 
war,  and  much  aimoyed  by  the  coiuinual  and  treasonable  trade 
carried  on  from  New  England  to  the  British  neighbouring  pos- 
sessions, especially  Halifax,  where  it  was  not  uncommon  for 
large  quantities  of  American  flour  to  arrive  at  a  time  when  it 
was  not  plenty  and  the  price  high  in  the  United  States.     Seven- 
teen thousand  barrels  of  flour  were  landed  at  Halifax  in  one 
day.     The  day  after  the  message  was  committed  to  the  com- 
mittee on  foreign  relations,  the  chairman,  Mr.  Calhoun,  reported 
against  the  measure.    But  that  report  was  reversed  by  the  House 
still  in  secret  session,  and  the  subject  committed  to  a  select  com- 
mittee, instructed  to  report  the  bill  as  proposed.     Mr.  Speaker 
Clay  constructed  the  select  committee,  exclusively  of  friends  of 
the  measure  and  of  the  administration,  with  Felix  Grundy  as 
chairman.     On  the  22d  July,  1813,  he  reported  an  embargo  bill, 
which,  after  a  sharp  contest,  was  immediately  put  through  all 
the  stages  of  enactment,  and  finally  passed  by  a  majority  of 
thirty ;  a  party  vote,  excepting  Messrs.  Lowndes,  Cheves,  and 
Calhoun,  who  constantly  voted  against  all  such  schemes.     The 
Senate  promptly  rejected  the  bill  as  it  went  from  the  House. 
With  this  defeat  of  one  of  the  president's  plans,  the  session 
closed  soon  after,  on  the  2d  August,  1813.      As  soon  after  the 
beginning  of  the  next  session  as  the  9th  December,  1813,  the 
president  repeated  his  recommendation  of  an  embargo.    Again 
the  House  of  Representatives  closed  their  doors,  and  after  many 
fruitless  efforts  by  Mr.  Pitkin,  Mr.  Oakley,  Mr.  Stockton,  Mr. 
Grosvenor,  Mr.    Post  and  Mr.  Hanson,  to  defeat  or  alter  the 
bill,  it  passed  the  House  once  more  on  the  11th  December,  and 
then  passed  the  Senate.      That  embargo,  however,  lasted  only 
till  the  following  April,  when  it  was  repealed.     It  had  not  the 
desired  effect.     Those  who  would  break  the  law  of  war  by 


:ti 


JULY,  1813. 

to  neutral 
;t  such  ax- 
)bstructcd. 
ereiit  ports 
irc  of  war 
my.     The 
vith  closed 
comnnltee 
h  the  exe- 
rcenient  of 
lablo  trade 
)uring  pos- 
amnioii  for 
ne  when  it 
Bs.     Scven- 
ilax  m  one 
o  the  com- 
Lin,  reported 
Y  the  House 
select  coni- 
klr.  Speaker 
,f  friends  of 
Grundy  as 
mbargo  bill, 
through  all 
majority  of 
Gheves,  and 
ernes.     The 
the  House, 
the  session 
>n  after  tlie 
r,  1813,  the 
rgo.    Again 
after  many 
ockton,  Mr. 
or  alter  the 
cember,  and 
,  lasted  only 
had  not  the 
of  war  by 


CHAP.  XII.] 


CONCLUSION. 


506 


treasonable  commerce  and  intercourse  with  the  enemy,  were 
not  to  be  deterred  by  so  much  less  stringent  an  interdict  as  au 
embargo. 

Yet,  with  all  the  disadvantages  and  reverses  of  the  first  eigli- 
teen  months  of  war,  no  branch  of  government  doing  all  it  should 
to  cary  it  on,  the  mere  majority  of  a  divided  people,  armed  with 
the  faculties,  attributes  and  illusion  of  government,  withstood  all 
assaults,  foreign  and  intestine,  and  maintained  the  contest  till 
more  experience  brought  better  fortune.  One-third  of  the  most 
mtelligent  people  of  the  United  States,  with  more  than  half  the 
active  and  convertible  funds,  were  opposed  to  the  war.  But 
factions  and  party  opposition  to  government  was  much  more 
sound  than  substance.  There  is  potency  in  lawful  authority, 
when  sustained  by  the  mass,  however  denounced  and  thwarted 
by  the  most  intelligent  opponents.  Clamour  appeals  in  vain 
against  the  action  of  the  less  educated  or  wealthy  mass  directed 
by  government,  and  vindicating  a  country.  If  the  war  of  1812 
had  begun  with  the  successes  it  ended  with,  the  party  opposed 
to  it  would  have  been  annihilated  during  the  war.  Defeats  and 
mismanagement  endangered  and  embarrassed  the  administration, 
which  its  enemies  would  never  have  been  able  to  check  with 
victories  to  rally  to.  Procrastination  of  belligerent  severities, 
postponement  of  burthens  on  the  people,  looking  to  a  third  power 
to  mediate  peace,  shrinking  from  enlisting  the  co-operation  of 
France,  all  abstinence  of  every  kind  from  strenuous  war,  did  but 
aggravate  hostilities  until  hostile  pressure  iorced  from  the  nation 
exertions,  which  government  at  last  seconded. 


VOL.  r. — -13 


606 


CONCLUSION. 


[DEC,  1813. 


CONCLUSION. 


s 


■■■h^i^ 


m 


^^/v 


We  have  now  reached  the  end  of  the  first  eighteen  months 
of  the  war,  and  passed  the  lowest  point  of  its  mismanagement 
and  dispsters.  Henceforth  it  cuhiiinates;  and  its  history  will  be 
more  agreeable  both  to  the  writer  and  the  reader.  The  trans- 
actions sketched  in  the  volume  closed  here,  with  the  year  1813, 
both  political  and  military,  demonstrate  that  war  is  not  the  only 
or  the  greatest  national  evil,  but  that,  as  all  extremes  are  dan- 
gerous, there  may  be  injury  from  too  long  a  peace  as  well  as  by 
too  much  war. 

The  president's  annual  message  to  Congress,  at  our  meeting, 
in  December,  1813,  in  a  strain  of  persuasive  optimity  argued  the 
alternative  good  which  hostilities  evolved ;  revival  of  military 
knowledge,  almost  extinct  by  thirty  years  of  flattering  peace ; 
gratifying  proof  of  American  capacity  for  vindication  against 
the  greatest  naval  power  of  the  world  ;  establishment  of  manu- 
factures till  then  scarcely  attempted;  acquisition  of  national  cha- 
racter and  confidence :  corroboration  of  the  federal  union,  stronger 
than  sectional  or  state  resistance.  These  and  other  advantages, 
Madison,  a  sincere,  if  not  excessive  lover  of  peace,  extracted 
from  hostilities,  whose  military  occurrences  had  been  mostly 
unfortunate,  yet  whose  reverses  his  message  varnished  with  hues 
of  consolatory  explanation  to  Congress  and  the  people. 

Another  volume  of  this  historical  sketch,  embracing  the  events 
and  philosophy  of  the  succeeding  year,  1814,  will  more  than 
realize  that  consolation. 

Without  anticipating  its  details,  a  synopsis  of  some  of  them 
is  suitable  valedictory  to  the  perils  and  disadvantages  past  and 
told  in  the  volume  here  closed.  Early  in  1814,  the  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  Mr.  Clay,  was  taken  from  it,  to 
be  united  with  Messrs,  Adams,  Bayard  and  Gallatin,  to  whom 


m'  ' 


1 


[DEC,  1813. 


CHAP.  XII.] 


CONCLUSION. 


507 


en  months 
anagenient 
)ry  will  be 
The  trans- 
year  1S13, 
ot  the  only 
es  are  dan- 
well  as  by 

nr  meeting, 

argued  the 

of  military 

ring  peace ; 

ion  against 

of  manu- 
tional  cha- 
on,  stronger 
advantages, 

extracted 
een   mostly 

with  hues 

the  events 
more  than 

ne  of  them 
es  past  and 
Speaker  of 
from  it,  to 
n,  to  whom 


also  Jonathan  Russcl,  the  former  Charg6d'A(Iaires  of  the  United 
States,  first  in  Franco,  then  in  England,  was  joined,  in  the  mission 
of  peace  sought  in  Europe.  In  Mr.  llussel  the  war  had  a  friend 
on  that  mission,  in  Mr.  Clay  a  eluunpion  of  western,  ultramon- 
tane tenacity,  indispensable  to  curb  the  anxious  and  yielding 
tcndeneies  of  Messrs.  Adams  and  Gallatin.  Mr.  Clay  took  with 
him  tlie  ancient  policy  which  Tacitus  ascribes  to  tlie  Germans, 
rather  to  resist  than  deprecate  hostilities  as  the  way  to  peace. 

And  that  spirit  ins|»iring  the  government  at  home  displayed 
itself  in  successes  almost  everywhere  in  1S14.  Having  con- 
quered France,  Great  Britain  was  enabled  to  turn  her  whole 
force  upon  the  United  States.  Her  best  troops  were  nevertheless 
vanquislied  in  the  north  and  in  the  south,  by  sea  and  land,  in 
everything  like  equal  encounter  save  one — the  shameful  capture 
of  Washington.  Accustomed  to  the  controlling  metropolitan  iii- 
lluence  of  Europe,  the  captors  of  that  city  supposed  that  its  lall 
made  them  masters  of  the  United  States;  whereas  it  did  but  rouse 
and  unite  nearly  the  whole  country  for  strenuous  hostilities. 

In  the  midst  of  its  smouldering  ruins  Congress  doubled  the 
taxes  and  established  a  revenue.  The  deserted  and  prostrate 
Treasury  was  resuscitated  by  Secretary  Dallas,  with  heroic  exer- 
tions sustaining  armies  in  Canada  and  Louisiana  notwithstand- 
ing the  disappearance  of  coin.  The  Hartford  Convention  in  its 
fetid  maturity  was  overwhelmed  by  victories  which  the  rebuked 
authorities  of  New  England  celebrated  for  preserving  Louisiana 
as  one  of  the  United  States,  and  conquering  peace  in  Canada. 
A  system  of  war  jurisprudence  and  international  law  was  adju- 
dicated, which,  together  with  the  more  various  and  extensive 
legislation  of  the  year  1S14,  the  connnenccment  of  the  great 
internal  improvements  of  the  United  States,  me  scientific  and 
artificial  inventions  of  men  of  genius,  excited  by  the  exigencies 
of  war — the  steamboat,  the  rail  road,  the  cotton  gin,  in  the  year 
1813  and  1814  struggling  into  the  innnense  development  they 
have  since  attained,  for  peace  and  for  war — will  be  among  the 
grateful  topics  v)f  another  volume. 

The  peace  of  Ghent,  with  our  European  and  all  other  Ameri- 
can foreign  relations  in  the  year  1815,  will  supply  the  subjects 
of  a  third  and  last  volume,  in  which  the  whole  foreign  policy  of 
the  United  States  may  be  presented. 


608 


CONCLUSION. 


[JULY,  1813. 


In  the  age  of  commercial  gain  which  succeeded  that  of  con- 
quest, which  in  its  turn  supplanted  that  of  Chivahy,  the  United 
States  ventured  to  contend,  first  in  traiiic  then  in  arras,  with  the 
great  maritime  ruler  of  mankind,  and  triumphed  over  many  dis- 
advantages 

Illi  justitiam  confirmavere  triiimphi, 
Presenles  docu("'rc  Deos.    Hinc  sajcula  discant 
Indomilura  nihil  esse  pio,  tiitumve  doccnli. 

Claiu.  '"e  IV  Cos3.  HoNORii  5)8. 


fe  ^'ii' 


wmx 


1,'f  I 


W 


INDEX. 


Ail.ims,  John,  'lliS. 

AilaiiiH,  .loliii  (iuiucy,  72,  -IGl,  405,  46G, 
'107,  'ItiS. 

A(lmiiiistr;itu)n  intijorify,  CG. 

Alhiiiiy,  nisolutioiis  at  convention  in,  402 

Alort,  ciiptiiro  liy  tlio  Ks.scx,  390. 

Ali'.xiiiulcr,  tli(!  Emperor,  4G1,  4C5,  473. 

Alien  net,  (i9. 

Allen,  Colonel,  94,  132. 

Allcorn,  Colonel,  33"). 

Allerriance,  perijetnal,  4;)6,  4.j7. 

Allen,  Captain,  424. 

American  ('liiirch,  4S,  67. 

cruisers,  42;>. 

'"orce  in  1HI3,  293,  294. 

■ press,  29G,  297,  298. 

terms  of  peace,  431. 

Americans,  sentiments  of,  IS. 
Anderson,  Joseph,  12S. 
Angns,  Lieutenant,  9G. 
Appropriations  tor  army  and  navy,  70. 

't>r  Lawrence,  his  ollicers 
and  crew,  418. 

— — l"or  captures,  416. 

Argns,  423,  424. 

Armstronfj,  General,  2G7,  295. 

his  plan,  289,  290,  291,  292. 

Army,  waste  oClife  in,  284. 
Armistice  pro|)03ed  by  Warren,  449. 

rejected,  450. 

Astor,  John  Jacob,  63,  71. 


B. 

Bainbridge  and  Stewart,  373,  378,  379. 

their  remonstrances,  376. 

~ letter   to  the   presi- 
dent, 379. 
Bainbridge,  390,  391,394. 

letter,  418. 

Ballard,  Bland,  133. 
Barclay,  Captain,  130. 

— — ^,  official  dispatch,  151, 

152. 


,  toast,  151. 

Barker,  Captain,  388. 
Baring,  Alexander,  481,  482. 


Barlow,  .Toel,  72,  464,  197,  501.  .502. 

liis  negotiations,  499,  600. 

Harry,  William,  177. 

Hassano,  Duke  of,  .")00. 

Hayard,  Mr.,  4G7,  4G8. 

IJayres,  Adjutant  (ieneral,  136. 

Heaslcy,  Major,  328,  329. 

Heckwilli,  General,  200. 

Helvidcra,  frigate,  393. 

Ueresford,  Captain,  194. 

Berry,  389. 

Uibb,  Wm.  W.,  105, 

Middle,  Thomas,  28(i. 

Middle,  Lieutenant,  389,  392. 

Binns,  John,  270. 

Uisho|)p,  Colonel,  289. 

Black  Hock,  capture  of,  289. 

Blockades,  195. 

Bloom,  Colonel,  94. 

Hlythe,  421,427. 

Boerstler,  Lieutenant  Colonel,  96. 

—  capture  of,  287. 

Bonaparte,  Joseph,  72,  494. 

Napoleon,  495,  497,  498,  499. 

Bowers,  Surgeon,  138. 
Moyd,  General,  289. 
British  inhumanity,  153. 

ministry,  70. 

•  army,  disaster  of,  182. 

marine  overrated,  200. 

plans,  333. 

■  embargo,  444. 

Hrown,  (ieneral  Jacob,  281,  282. 
Brock,  General,  81,  92. 

— ,  letter,  16th  August,  1812, 


85. 


-,  force  at  Detroit,  82. 
-,  letter  to  Prevost,  89. 
-,  death  of,  93 


Budgets,  British  and  American  of  1812,  59. 
Burwell,  Wm.  A.,  125. 
Burn,  Colonel  James,  286,  287. 
Burrowes,  Lieutenant  Wm.,  421. 
Burke's  remarks,  437,  438. 


C. 


43 


Cabot,  George,  63. 
Cabinet  council,  378. 


If  !■  ■ 


Bff^,''."'' 

^w3 

ife' 

|g|;^;: 

Si''*V'h^' 

flf,     ■  '^*    ;    ■*' 

^fi 

fj.^v'*!^:- 

'■'',.  !i 

Y,'",''^    ,  '.■- 

Mi 

fl.^^:\ 

'i,.j  :' 

i. 


510 

Calhoun.  Mr.,  121. 

,  liis  report,  480. 

('iim|it)(>ll,  Mr.,  71. 
Cainpaiiiii,  Ihilifax,  7"). 

„r  1812,  Olid  of,  102. 

-,  caiispH  of,  10.1. 


INDEX. 


-  of  IS13,  011(1  of,  282. 
,(;(>or(T(.  \V.,  131. 


Ca.iipl 

("amp  Mi'ijTH,  11,"),  ll(j 

,  ilofoat  at,  147. 

Canada,  conipicst  of,  74. 

Canadian  caiiipaij^n,  end  of,  30U,  30!. 

Cannon,  Colonel,  33."». 

(■apturrs,  .Vnu^rican  and  KngliMh,  434. 

(•ass,  Lewis,  S2. 

Ci...»lerennli,  .170,  471,  172,  491. 

,  speech,  4iSl. 

Cathcart,  471,  472. 

Causes  and  character  of  war,  IS,  If). 

Causes  of  failure   of  canipaijjn  of  1S13, 

29"' 
("hassciirs  llrittaniqiios,  IflG. 
Chauncey,Coniiii()dore,  270,  42S,42!),  430. 
,    letter     to    Win. 

.Tones,  Seerelary  of  the  Navy,  273. 
Chandler,  (leneral,  iSi). 
Cheves,  l.aiit^don,  (il ,  110. 
Chewitt,  Colonel,  272. 
Chcrok(!e  address  to  the  citizens  of  thij 

United  .States,  322. 
Chesapeake,  391,420. 
Church,  American,  48,07. 
Chrystie,  Colonel,  !)0. 
Clav,  llenrv,  122,  20.'>,  206. 
Clarke,  .lames,  207. 
Claiborne,  Urigadior  General,  33G. 
Clarence,  Duke  of,  422, 
Clinton,  l)e  Witt,  (J9. 
Climate.  351. 
Coast  warfare,  194,  19.5. 
Cochurn,  Admiral  (ieorgo,  19fi. 
Cockrane,  Lord,  431. 

■  ■,  liis  resolutions,  432. 
Coffee,  (leneral,  33.5. 
Coles,  Colonel  Isaac,  30.5.  •■ 

Committee,  select,  207,  208. 
Commercial  losses  by  war,  42fi. 
Contest  between  United  States  and  (.rent 

Britain,  17. 
Congress  of  1812,  Ctl,  .58. 

,  number  of  inninbcrs,  6.5. 

,  parties  in,  G.5. 

,  extra  session  in  1S13,  105. 

applauded,  108. 

,  appropriations  tor  war,  109. 

,  secret  session  of,  118. 

Constellation,  frigate,  199,  200. 
Connor,  Major  Samuel,  272. 
Constitution,  frigate,  3S2. 

^ ,  chased,  383. 

Connor,  Midshipman,  393. 
Conclusion,  .505,  506,  ,507. 
Cooper,  Captain,  201. 
Cooper,  Thomas,  207,  208. 


Correspondence  between  Dearborn,  Prc- 
vjist  and  Wilkinson,  respecting  retalia- 
tion, 455,  •1,56. 

Corbiii,  Major,  201. 

Council  of  War,  307,310. 

Covington,  (icneral,  305. 

Cox,  Lieutenant,  395. 

,  court  martial,  396,397, 

39S,  399, 400,  101 ,  402, 403, 404, 405, 
40(i,  407,  'lOS,  •109. 

Cox"8  defence,  410,411,  412,  413,  414, 
415. 

Crawford,  Mr.,  72,  4(is,  .501,  502. 

Craig,  'I'lionias,  S5,  86,87. 

Craney  Island.  200. 

Crane,  Lieuteiinit,  383. 

Creeks,  325,  32(i,  327,  344. 

killed.  34S. 

^—^—  dispciscd,  318. 
tre.ilies,  354,  355. 

misery,  351. 

Croghiin,  (leorge.  If},  190. 

,  .'us  ;-allanfrv,  148. 

Crutchlield,  Mnjor,  201. 

Cruizi'rs,  Anier(can,  '25. 

Customs  from  180S  to  1S16,  inclusive,  257. 

,  ex|)ensi'.s  of  collection,  2.58. 


D. 

Dallas,  Mr.,  71. 

,  exposition  of  causes  and  cha- 
racter of  the  war,  18,  19,  20,  21,  22, 
1.3,  24.  25,  26,  27,  28,  29,  30,  31,  32, 
33,  3',  35,  36. 

Darnlev,  Karl  of,  his  motion,  369. 

Daschkolf,  Mr.,  465,  -167. 

Dearborn,  Henry,  9S,  100. 

^—^— ,  his   failure  to   enter 

Canada. 

Dearborn,  272. 

■ — ,  armistice,  '145. 

•, rejected  by  Madison,  147. 


,  removal,  288. 

,  I'revost  and  Wilkinson's  corre- 
spondence about  retaliation,  455,  456. 

Debt,  national,  \\. 

,  of  the  revolution,  14. 

Declaration  of  war,  13. 

independence, 15. 

Dekantzow,  Mr.,  72. 

Decatur,  ,390,  420,  421. 

Dennis,  Colonel,  307. 

Do  Salaberry,  Lieutenant  Colonel,  298, 
299. 

Desertion,  429. 

Detroit,  force  at,  82. 

Diary  concerning  Dearborn's  armistice, 
447,  448. 

Dolphin,  brig,  .393. 

Drummond,  Lieutenant  Colonel,  310. 

Dudley,  Lieutenant,  96. 

Duval,  William,  124. 


1  N  D  K  X  , 


m 


narborn,  Prc- 
Bcting  rctalia- 


,al,  3nfi,397, 
10:1, 401,  >0.'', 

112,   U3,  414, 

1,502. 


anfry,  14S. 

,i,iclimivp,2r)7. 
ctiuii,  i^S. 


ciutson  and  cIm- 
10,20,21,22, 
2!),  30,  31,  32, 

,3G0. 


irc  to   enter 


)y  Madison,  ktl. 

ilkinson's  corrc- 
i;ition,  455,  456. 


ice,  15. 

t  Colonel,   298, 

arn's    armistice, 
oloncl,  310. 


E. 

K(xonn(li;i(';i,  hattle  of,  330. 
Kdwards,  Captain,  I3!l, 
Kliiott,  liail'  lireed  Indian,  I3H. 
Klliott,  Captain.  270. 

,  Lieutenant,  272. 

Hnibarjjo,  127,  .004. 

repealed,  504. 

Knirnerson,  Captain,  200. 
Kniuelit'an,  l)attie  of,  347. 
Kneiny's  liceiiNcs  for  vcssoIh,  115. 
Kngland's  deHi){n.4  upon  Cnited  States,  Mi. 
Kngland  rejects  llussiun  mediation,  471, 

472. 
Knglish  account  of  ConiireMH  of  1S13,  1 12. 

inllucnce,  477, 47S,  .1<)2, 495, 4l)G, 

497. 

captured  at  St.  Ilegis,  9S. 

vessels  captured,  1 13. 

outrages  alter  tlie  battle  of  llnm]i- 

ton,  202,203,  204. 

treachery  at  Raisin,  137. 

,  unworthy  liostilitics  of,  197,  19S, 

199. 

inilucnco  in  New  Kngland,   485, 


4sti. 


naval  force  in  America,  3t)(). 

treatment  of  prisoners,  3.S9. 

exultation  for  the  capture  of  the 

Chesapeake,  422. 
^——  apology  for    American   victories, 

423. 
Kngland  desiro'..H  of  peace,  445,  440. 

,  sympathy  with,  17. 

Kppt;s,  John  W.,  105. 

Krie,  battleof,  149,  l.iO,  151,  152,  153,  151. 

,  incidt^Mts  of,  155,  15ti. 

Kustis,  Wm.,  (iO,  (is,  2(iU,  2(i7. 

,  remark  of,  75,  77. 

,  aiiswi^r  of,  2M9. 

Kuropean  iiilluence  in  America,  474. 
interference  about  Indians,  320, 


Kustapliicve,  Russian  consul,  474. 


F. 

Faulkner,  Major,  200. 
Kenwick,  Colonel,  90. 
Ferdinand,  the  Seventh,  72. 
Findley,  William,  20(i. 
Fisk,  .lames,  123. 

,  .(onathan,  123. 

Flournoy,  (ieneral,  32(i. 
Foreign  intercourse  fund,  70. 

intluence,  47S,  479,  480. 

relations,  72,  73. 

Forsyth,  .lohn,  124,  207. 

,  Major,  270. 

Fort  George,  310. 

—  attack  of,  280. 

Niagara  surprised,  312. 

— —  Miuims,  325,  32S. 


Fort  MimniH,  attack  on,  329.  33.1. 

-^^  Jiitksoii  or  Toulonse,  35(1. 

Forty  .Mde  Creek,  battle  of,  2Si;. 

Fort  .Mitchell,  327.  32S. 

Foster,  Augustus,  193,  443,  448,  479,  481, 

4S2. 
France,  American  sympathy  willi,  493. 
Franklin.  Dr.,  2ti9. 
French  inllneiice,  477,  4S7,  495. 
French  eo-o|>eration  with  America,  496. 
Fromcntin,  Klijius,  325. 


(;allatin,Mr.,OS,  71,  372,373,074,  378, 
4(i7,  4fjS. 

,  absence  of,  120. 


— ,  rejection  of,  12S. 


(iarrard,  .lames,  140. 

(laston,  Mr.,  123,  207. 

(ierry,  KIdndge,  (iO. 

Cierman,  Oliadjiih,  120. 

(Iholsiiu,  'riioinas  (!.,  122. 

(iibsoii,  Captain,  90. 

(iilrs,  William  It.,  120. 

(iirard,  Stephen,  ()3,  71. 

(iold.sboroiigh,  Charles,  375. 

(ioodall.  Captain,  201. 

(iordon,  t'aptain,  200. 

(iovernmcnt,  republicnn,  in  war,  113. 

,  state  and  federal,  33.1,  335. 

,  error  of,  370,  371,  372. 

,  popular,  vast  power  of,  90. 

(iranger,  (iide(m,  (iS,  70. 

(ireat  llritain's  designs  on  Americr., 

Cireen,  Capt;iin,  37S. 

('■rosvenor,  Knsign,  94. 

-,  Thomas,  114,206. 


314. 


(Irutidv,  Felix,  (i2. 

,  his  bill,  452,  4.53. 


(iuerriere,  frigate,  capture  ot\  bS. 


H. 

Ilalil'ix  campaign,  75,  76,  77. 

,  advantages  of,  78. 

Hamilton,  .Mexander,  70. 

,  Paul,  68,  375,376,377. 


Hampton,  201 

,  Ceue  al  Wade,  293. 

,   repulsed 


300. 


299, 
,  letter  of,  304, 


Hammond,  Captain,  335. 
Hanson,  Alexander,  123. 
Hanson's  resolutions,  491. 
Hunchelt,  Captain,  201. 
Hart,  Nathaniel.  138. 
Harrison,  (ien.,  145,  146. 

,  retirement  of,  1S9. 

,  death  of,  190. 

,  anecdote  of,  191. 


Hartford  convention,  250. 


619 


INDEX 


'm. 


r.  ^l 


Harvoy,  Liciitfinant-Colunrl,  385,  3N7. 

Iliirily,  UO. 

lliirriH,  Lcvftt,  Aiiii.'riciiii  cuiimuI,  161. 

Iliiulinaii,  'ZSi). 
ililliilii'i<  and  AiitoNMco,  33U. 
IlopkiiiH,  (ifrirriil)  1 1.'). 
II(>|ikiiiHiiii,  ,l(iHC|ili,  I!I2. 
liiiUHf  lit'  Kciiri'Hcritativev,  111. 
Hull.  <icii('ral  William,  (!X|i«!ilition  of,  7S, 
7!». 

— ,  Hiirrciidor  of,  80, 


81,  H-i,  s;i. 


(Ml,  x-i. 


-,  iii(liKiiatii)n  nt,  82. 
-,   d('|i(i8al  |iri!v<'iit- 


dcr,  81,  8;'). 


-,  Hfiitcnco,  81, 

-,  eHocls  of  surrcn- 

,  trial  of,  88,  89. 


llillpH  ordcfH,  IISO,  ;iSl,  382. 
Hull,  Captain  iHaac.jNr),  IIOO. 
HiiinplircyH,  I'erry  VV.,  207,  208 
llyllycr,  426. 


I. 


IinprRaamciit,  -I.'jI,  453. 

IncoiiK^  III'  tlic  I'nitcd  StntOR,  25G. 

Iriini  ciiHtonis,  70. 

Indian  barbarities,  1 12,  143. 
Indians  di'st'rt  I'rnctor,  175,  17G. 

,  (i|i|ir<!SNiiin  of,  187. 

Indian  alliance,  273,  274,  275,  27G,  277, 

278. 
Indians,  .\mrrican  dread  of,  270. 
Indian  nations,  323. 
Indians,  Kurojioan  interference  about,  320, 

321. 
Indians  Hiibdurd,  312. 
,  incllicifiicy  of  efforts  to  civilize, 

330. 
Infills,  Lieutenant  (ieurgn,  152. 
Int(!rnal  revenue,  2.')7. 
Irving,  tleorKe  W.,  72. 
Izard,  tienural  George,  300. 


J. 


Jackson,  Andrew,  1.33,  l!tO,320,  338,341, 

342,  343,  345,  353,  384. 
Jackson's  battles,  340. 

letter,  346,  3.50. 

Jefferson,  372,  464,  47!). 
Johnson,  James,  178,  181. 

,  R.  M.,  178,  179,  180,  ISl,  183. 

Jones,  Lieutenant,  202. 

,  William,  270. 

,  Captain,  430,  431. 


K. 


Keen,  Pollard,  141. 
Kenton,  Simon,  133. 


Kentucky  vulunteera,  133,  143,  Ml. 

Kill);,  CviiiH,  60. 

,  William.  (iO. 

,  Uiiliis,  66,  Ii7. 

,  William  It.,  117. 

,  Miijiir  Williiiii,  272. 

King's  Mountain,  170,  180. 


L. 


Lake  Clianipiain,  420. 

Ontario,  42S,  129. 

sliip-liiiililiii  ',  130. 

I.awri'iiee,  4211.  HDl,  :m2,  304,395. 

I.eili,  Mii^liael,  120. 

L'Ks|iii't;le,  395. 

Lewis,  Colonel.  132. 

— — ,  (ieiieriK  Morgan,  287. 

Licenses  to  eneiiiv's  vchhcIh  forbid,  115. 

Lieven,  Count,  467. 

Lively,  Lieutenant,  201. 

Loans,  248,  249. 

,  War,  61.  62,  63. 

Loiiiliin  Courier,  extract  from,  70. 

Journal,     •'  "      386,  .387. 

Louisiana  ailmitted  into  the  l.'nion,  65. 
Lowndes,  William,  59. 


M. 


Machcssey,  Captain,  90. 

McDoweli,  Colonel,  92. 

McLean,  John,  114. 

McCrackeii,  Captain,  139. 

McCalla,  John,  141. 

Macon,  Mr.,  206,  208,  209.210,  211,212, 

213,  214,215,216,217. 
McLean,  270. 
McNeal,  270. 

McK(!0,  Hritish  agent,  275. 
McCMure,  (Jeiieral,  310. 
McCall,  Lieutenant,  420. 
Madison,  (icorge,  133. 
,  James,  259,  260,  261,  26-:,  26?, 

264,  265,  377,  379,  450. 
Majority  for  ailmiiilstration,  66. 
Massachusetts,  59,  60. 

,  authorities  of,  63. 

— — — legislature,  483,  484. 

Mason,  Jeremiali,  64,  66. 

,  John,  69. 

Aleail,  Colonel,  94. 

,  Captain,  139. 

Meigs,  II.  J.,  174. 

Meniliers  of   Congress,  number  in   1812, 

65. 
Michllimackinac,  75. 

,  description  of,  79. 

Micliigan,  peninsula  of,  131. 

Midsliipman's  diary,  393. 

Miller,  Colonel,  81,  146. 

Militia  mutiny  at  battle  of  Queenstow/i, 

92. 


INDEX 


513 


Miliein  lorrm,  94. 
— — —  pniHionii,  tH. 

iiMitifiy,  !t2,  101. 

returns  (;.r  \S\3,  OH. 

,  ri.ul  ..f,  !K),  91,  !>f.,  3.30. 

(Iisltatiil,  .'nil. 

Militiiry  oprrationH  of  1813,  130. 

iliHtriclH,  ini. 

Mili^lii'll,   Li<!iili'iiiitil-('()lc)in'l  (l(.M)rgo  v.. 

iVi. 
:\I(il)il<>,soizurP  of,  31S,  319. 

,  i!  "lit  to,  33(1. 

MoiitrLsU,  cxiirditioii  til,  iOli. 

,  ilcmcnt  1(1,  :!<Kt,  ;i()l. 

Monolmc,  tlii-  |ir()|ilii'l"K,  dciUli,  33!). 
Moiil);iiiii<:ry,  Miijnr,  iliMth  of,  317.  I 

iMoiiroi',  .liUiK'H,  ti7. 
Morciiii,  (Jcnoriil,  Ki!). 
MorriH,  Kolicrt,  70. 

,  I.iciitciiant,  3.'^3. 

Morrow,  .li'rrmiali,  130. 

Moscly,  Major,  HI. 

Moiillon,  l.n'iitniaiit,  ilcatli  of,  317. 

iMiiir.  M;ijor,  131. 

MulcaHter,  Cup'ain,  303,  428,  429. 


N. 


Names  of  vcshcIs,  41.5, 
Nantucket,  (iO. 

National  ('(imiiari.son,  l.')3,  l.")!. 
Nativr  nlle^jiancc,  130. 
Natiirali/alion  piiiiiHliiMl,  •ir)3,  '\')\. 
Navy,  3til,  3()2,  .3(53,  3(M,  36."»,  301),  367, 
■368,38:"),   U8,   119. 

,  a|)|)ri>|  nations  for,  70. 

,  cli-lni.    ..f,  372. 

,  mtcmlfii  cliHpusition  of,  374,  37.5, 

376. 
Naval  victorira,  3SS,  :?S9. 
,  intlucncc  ot',  41.5,  416. 

-  >Aiir,  bofjinnin^;  of,  394. 
— — —  warfare,  421. 

comparison,  435,  436. 

-  power,  138. 

Hucc;'aseH,  ofTocts  of,  88. 

rewards,  439,  440,  111. 

— —  .'iiiporiority,  supposed  of  the  Uritish, 

384. 
Nelson,  IFuuli,  105. 
Ne|)tnne,  ship,  1(!7. 
New  Knglaud,  63,  436,  437. 


O.akley,  Mr.,  123. 

Odeltown,  298. 

Oflicers  and  soldiers,  intended  provision 

for,  31.5. 
0){ilvie,  Captain,  90. 
Otis,  Harrison  Gray,  63,  475,  484,  485. 

,  .lames  Aileyne,  115, 

Overton,  Major,  136. 


P. 


I'ahlen,  Count  Tlicodorp,  46.5. 

Pamphlet  distrilinted  at  Washin^'ton  by  the 

KiiHliNli,  465. 
Paper  nionev,  2.)0,  251,  252. 
Parish,  David,  63,  70. 
Parliament,  4Sl,  4S2. 
Party  coiidiets,  elTeels  of,  475,  476. 
Patterson,  Lieutenant,  335. 
Patriotism  of  the  people,  121. 
Peace  party,  ()8. 

,  American  terms  of,  .151. 
Pearee,  C.donel  Cromwell,  271,  272,  30b. 
Peacock,  the,  395. 
Peek,  .liid(,'e,  93. 
pelican,  the,  424. 
Pensions,  1 14. 
People,  sovereignty  of,  1>}. 
Perry's  letters,  151. 

victory,  149. 

huinanity,  153. 

Penv  and  Klliott,  154. 

Perry's  and  Harrison's  victories,  rijuicing 

for,  191. 
Peterson,  (loodwyii,  206. 
;  ick(^riin,',  Timothy,  (iO. 
Pike,  /(4)idon  Montponiery,  26^,  269. 
Pinekney,  (icneral,  letters  of,  346,   356, 

357. 

and  .Jackson,  35,S, 

Pitkin,  Timothy,  64,  105, 

Plan  of  voiing  American  ofliccr,  74,  75, 

76,  77. 
Pleasants,  James,  105. 
Police,  70. 
Poletica,  Mr.,  465. 
Popular  government,  power  of,  96. 
Porter,  Ceneral  Peter  11. ,  96. 

,  report  of,  455. 

,  Captain,  425. 

President's  message,  205,  359,  360,  501, 

.50;),  504. 

to  Senate,  317. 

Preston,  Colonel,  305. 

Press,  the,  296,  297,  298. 

Prc^stniaii,  Kiiaif;n,  3SS. 

Prevost,  Crovernor-general,  letters  of,  187, 

188. 
Prisoner's  act,  69. 
Privatecrini;,  117. 

Privateers,  pensions  and  bounty  of,  llG. 
Price,  Captain,  139. 
Prince  Repent,  470. 
Prince  Kepenl's  speech,  ,Ian.,  1813,  103. 

order,  450. 

manifesto,  452,  476,  477. 

Prince  of  Peace,  3.58,  3.59. 

Proctor,  Colonel,  1,34,  141,  142,  181. 

and  his  army,  174,  175. 

,  conduct  of,  176. 

,  pursuit  of,  177,  178. 

,  disgrace  of,  184,  185. 


^h 


Pry  or,  Captain,  201. 


514 


INDEX, 


Wh'^ 


Ki'SMJitUl.-,'  ■ 


''(» ;.;;'■ 


Q. 

Queenstown,  battle  of,  f)0,  91. 

biiriiod,  311. 

Quiiicy,  Josiiili,  63,  -17'),  476. 

,  rt'soluticins  of,  110,  417. 

,  iiillueiicc  of, 

417. 


R. 


Raisin,  hattlo  of,  133,  134. 

,M"Afoc's  account  of,  13!). 

,  English  account  of,  141. 
Ramsey,  14. 
Reed,  John,  60. 

,  Captain,  434. 

Relations,  foreign,  72. 

Repudiation,  253. 

Retaliation,  434,  455,  456,  457,  45S,  459, 

460,461,402. 
Reverses,  effects  of,  1 10. 
Reynolds,  Major,  132. 
Rhea,  .John,  122. 
Roach,  Isaac,  92. 

,  Lieutenant,  388. 

Roberts,  Jonathan,  105. 

Robertson,  Rolling,  488. 

Rodney,  Cirsar  Augustus,  14. 

Rodgers,  425. 

Ronianzoff,  4(56. 

Roundhead,  Indian  Chief,  137. 

RusscI,  Jonathan,  72. 

Russian   mediation,   463,   461,  465,  466, 

467,  468. 

victories,  473,  474,  476. 

,  elfucts  of,  473. 


Sackctfs  Harbour,  280,  281. 
SchwertzcofF,  467. 
Scott,  Winfield,  !)2,  388. 

,  Colonel,  307. 

Seamen,  English  and  American,  433. 
Select  committee,  207,  208. 
Sentiment  of  Americans,  18. 
Senate  condemned.  111. 

and  House  compared,  110,  111. 

Servant,  Captain,  201. 
Seruricr,  Marshal,  503. 

,  Mr.,  503. 

Session,  secret,  118. 
Sevier,  (ieneral,  122. 
Sharp,  Solomon,  123. 
ShaefTe,  Roger,  92. 

,  (;encral,  271.272. 

Shelby,  Isaac,  174,  177,  179,  180. 
Short,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  148. 
Slaves,  interference  with,  252. 
Smith,  Lieutenant,  94. 

,  Samuel,  120. 

,  Samuel  H.,254. 


Smythe,  Alexander,  95. 

,  proclamation  of,  95. 

,  failure  of  invasion,  96,  97. 

,  duel  of,  97. 


Snyder,  Simon,  270. 

Somerville,  LitMitenant,  death  of,  3  17. 

Sovereignty  of  the  people,  15. 

Spanish  inteilVTcnce,  337. 

Spencer,  M:ijor,  94. 

State  and  federal  government,  334,  335. 

Stewart,  382,  392. 

Stephenson,  l''ort,  14S. 

Stewart,  Captain,  199,  200. 

St.  (ieorge,  Colonel,  134. 

Stockton,  Richard,  123. 

Strong,  Caleb,  59. 

,  (lovernor,  message  of,  483. 

Strahan,  Colonel,  94. 
Stuart,  I'hilip,  118. 
Swartwout,  Samuel,  205. 


T. 


Tallmadgo,  Colonel,  125. 

Talhisliatchce  and  Talladega,  335. 

Tallevrand,  498. 

Tarbell,  Captain,  199. 

Taxation,  difliculties  of,  107,  248. 

Taxes,  218,  219,  220,  221,  222,  223,  224, 

225,  226,  227,  228,  229,  230. 
Tax  tables,  231,  232,  233,  234.  2.35.  236, 

237,  238,  239,  240,  241,  242,  243. 
Taxes  repealed,  244,  247,  440. 
Tecumseh,  81,   175,  176,  177,   182,  1S3, 

332. 
Tecumsch's  mission,  324. 
Tennessee  volunteers,  334. 
Thames,  battle  of,  181. 

,  retlections  after,   l>^, 


184. 

Tod,  Surgeon,  138. 
Tostahatchee,  358. 
Totten,  Colonel,  90. 
TowRon,  286,  388. 

and  Commodore  Elliott,  3SS. 

Turrcau's  letttr,  490,  491. 
Treasury  notes  issued  for  war,  258. 
Troup,  Mr.,  123. 


Vanhorn,  Major,  81. 

Van  Uuren,  Martin,  89. 

Van  Rensselaer,  Stephen,  90. 

,  Solomon,  90. 

Vessels,  names  of,  4i5. 


Virginians  conspicuous  in  war,  107. 

W. 

Wadsworth,  General,  92. 


95. 

)n  of,  95. 

iivasion,  96,  97. 


lilt,  death  of,  3  17. 
(copic,  15. 
:,  337. 

vernmeiit,  33-1,  33). 

4S. 

)9,  200. 
,  13-1. 
123. 

ncssage  of,  -183. 
4. 

,  205. 


T. 

1,  125. 
Talluiloga,  335. 

99. 

PS  of,  107,  2.1S. 

120,221,222,  223,224, 

,  228,  229,  230. 

n,  233,  231.  235.  236, 

,  210,  211,  242,  243. 

44,  217,  440. 

ro,  170,  177,  182,  183, 

111,324. 

eors,  334. 

,  181. 

.,  rertections  after,  183, 

S. 

s. 

90. 

inoilore  P211iott,  3SS. 

490,491. 

sued  for  war,  258. 


8). 
till,  89. 

Stephen,  90. 

Solomon,  90. 
)r,  4i5. 
icuous  in  war,  107. 


INDEX 


515 


W'alk-in-thc-water's  tradition,  158,  159 
160,  161,  162, 163, 164, 163,  160, 167! 
168,  169,  170,  171,  172,  173. 

Walk-in-the-water  deserts  Proctor,  ISO. 

War  of  the  Revolution,  14. 

of  1812,  14,  15. 

,  sketch  of,  16. 

opposition  to,  47. 

preparation  for,  113. 

— ,  want  of,  67. 

philosophy  of,  103,  104. 

Wars  between  United  States  and  Great 
Hritain,  16,  17. 

War  loans,  288. 

,  subscription  to,  62,  63. 

,  council  of,  307,  310. 

meeting,  269. 

,  effects  of,  373. 

,  uncertainty  of,  83. 

rewards,  442. 

,  declaration  of,  13. 

,  reflections  on,  190,  197. 

,  expense  of,  283,  284,  285. 

for  impressment,  452,  453. 

.  character  of,  in  president's  message, 

,  commercial  losses  by,  420. 

Ward,  Artemas,  60. 

Warren,  Admiral,  194,  195,  448,  449. 

Washington,  threatened  attack  of,  119. 

-,  pamphlet  distributed  at  by  the 

English,  405. 

Washington's  reception  of  the  French  mi- 
nister Adet,  493,  494. 


Washington,  269. 

Watts,  sailing-master,  96,  388. 

Wayne,  269. 

Weatherford,  330,  349. 

Weaver,  389. 

Webster,  Daniel,  64,  480,  490. 

,  his  resolutions,  487,  488. 

Whalemen,  437. 
White,  330. 
Wickliffe,  Charles,  177. 
Wilkinson,  209,  288,  290,  320. 

-,  diary,  302,  303. 

,  letter,  303,  455. 

— ,  failure,  ,308. 

Williamsburgh,  290. 

,  battle  of,  306. 

— ;  varying  accounts 


of,  304,  305. 
Winder,  Colonel,  96. 

,  General,  285. 

Winchester,  General,  132,  133. 
Wool,  (ieneral,  90. 
Wood,  Colonel,  ISO. 
Worthington,  Thomas,  130. 
Wright,  (iovernor,  123. 


Veo,  Sir  James  Lucas,  279,  428,  434 
York,  270.  '        >        >        ■ 

,  capture  of,  271. 


END    OF    VOL.    I. 


W. 
aeral,  92. 


